Hours after a large group of educators and education experts gathered with the State's Reopening Education Subcommittee Monday, a labor liaison who attended said educators anxious to get back in the classroom know any return to school will "look different," but are expressing concerns about students' safety as well as their own.

This input came on the heels of Governor Ned Lamont announcing the state had crossed the 3,000 mark of reported deaths related to the novel coronavirus that has taken 80,000 lives nationally — the most reported of any country in the world according to Johns Hopkins University.

Jan Hochadel, president of AFT Connecticut, appeared in Lamont's daily press briefing May 11 along with the state AFL-CIO President for building trades Dave Roche.

Hochadel said educators would love to go back to classroom. She was told by teachers they generally do not think distance learning has been as effective as classroom learning, but "safety has to come first. "

On that issue, Hochadel said safety protocols like widespread testing, Personal Protective Equipment or PPE, and things like developing classroom spacing and bus protocols are all part of discussions going on now.

She said the reopening committee and education leaders are looking at camps and summer schools, which will likely provide some frameworks for the fall. But Hochadel acknowledged that any protocols put in place might be moot if a student or teacher has the virus, or there is another surge of positive cases resulting from schools reopening.

"Will they have the resources? Will they have the necessary courses for at risk and most vulnerable students? Most educators believe school will look different," Hochadel added.

She added that there is a "major concern" for educators who have compromising conditions or loved ones at home who may be at risk, "so it's important to get the plans right, and make sure everybody has proper protection."

Lamont said he still does not want to see those in any area of the state workforce over age 60-65 or whose health may already be compromised going back to work. The governor said he is looking into unemployment compensation options for those affected.

Roche added that trades workers and those overseeing their job sites were able to get some good protocols in place early and as a result, there were not a lot of infections among his workforce members.

"When there were, sites were shut down and disinfected," he said. Roche added that he and union leaders are watching best practices being developed and employed in Boston and New York.

The union president said he is looking at options like possible staggered shifts and other practices.

"We've got to make sure everybody keeps following the rules," Roche said, "and get back to building Connecticut as we should be."

Local Stats & Reopening Discussion

Locally, Health District Director Donna Culbert announced the 15th death of a Newtown resident May 11 from COVID-19, and the state has now reported Newtown's 145th positive test patient.

Culbert previously told The Newtown Bee that she knows about half of those cases have resolved and those affected are no longer testing positive.

As of 8:30 pm on May 10, a total of 33,765 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among Connecticut residents, with 1,212 patients currently hospitalized, and 3,008 COVID-19-associated deaths — 41 since Sunday. Hospitalizations continued their decline, however, with 30 fewer admissions reported.

Fairfield County contributed 13,312 cases to that overall number, with 1,034 reported deaths. Conversely, rural Windham County remains the safest region in the state with only 271 reported COVID-19 patients and seven deaths.

Those in the 50-59-year-old age group are still the leading individuals contracting the virus, while deaths in that group and those younger are fractional to those over age 80 who by far represent the majority of those state residents lost.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal related as the town pivots towards reopening, "we all said everything isn't going to happen May 20." He was speaking during a weekly webcast hosted by the Newtown Chamber of Commerce, and co-sponsored by The Newtown Bee.

The first selectman said consumers and local business owners both "need to be patient, to be sure everybody is doing the right thing, and we have to be as cooperative as we can to help get [businesses] to where they want to be."

State Rep Mitch Bolinsky, who was part of the May 11 webcast, added that in addition to being patient, it is important businesses and the government be flexible.

Bolinsky said he wants businesses that are challenged as they see competitors preparing to or already serving customers to send him their plan for reopening so he can share that with state officials.

In regard to the May 20 reopening target, Bolinsky said he is seeking input from businesses because there is "still so much we still don't know about the virus. But I think the best solutions are going to come from businesses."

He added that Governor Lamont has not "gone off the deep end," with enforcement for breaking protocols and guidelines set out to minimize the virus spread, which helps build goodwill toward a cooperative eventual reopening process for all.

Anyone in crisis or facing issues making ends meet or experiencing stress or anxiety can also call the 211 infoline or consult its companion website 211ct.org.

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, including an FAQ, other guidance and resources, and a way to ask questions, Newtown residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

The Newtown Bee is continuing to provide and mirror information and messages coming from local and state agencies on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. Newtown residents can get more details by visiting Newtown’s own COVID-19 web page, at newtown-ct.gov.

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