Looking to give more businesses a jump on Father's Day, Governor Ned Lamont said Friday, June 5, he is rolling back the state's Phase 2 reopening date from June 20 to June 17. Lamont tweeted the information shortly after revealing it during a press conference just before noon at a Hartford area hospital where he was marking National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

The two tweets said, "Our public health professionals are continuing to monitor test results for possible links to large demonstrations, but as long as COVID hospitalizations and infection rates remain low, we will be in a very good position for a June 17 Phase 2.

"To avoid having Phase 2 of Connecticut's reopening efforts take effect during a busy Father's Day weekend, we're going to move it up a few days earlier to June 17. We'll release additional safety guidance for businesses that fall under Phase 2 in the next couple of days."

The governor also noted a short time later that the state Department of Developmental Services (DDS) has released a reopening timeline memo for day and employment services as well as visitation in residential settings.

Commissioner Jordan A. Scheff said in the memo that "We continue to encourage individuals, families, providers, and the team to work together to create a plan for returning to the workforce in the safest way possible. DDS has issued tools to DDS case managers to help facilitate and guide this conversation."

For all other employment and day services, DDS anticipates the following next steps:

*DDS will be issuing a plan for phased reopening for employment and day services early next week (the week of June 8, 2020). The phased plan will include safety measures and capacity restrictions for employment and day services and providers along with a request for providers to create plans for their programming. Providers will be instructed to submit these plans to their designated regions by June 19, 2020.

*DDS anticipates roll out and implementation of phase one of the employment and day service reopening on approximately July 15, 2020.

*DDS anticipates roll out and implementation of phase two on approximately September 1, 2020.

*DDS anticipates roll out and implementation of phase three on approximately October 1, 2020.

Scheff also said DDS will be issuing a plan for visitation to all DDS qualified providers prior to June 14, 2020.

"This plan will outline suggestions, recommendations and guidance for providers to implement at their discretion with implementation and rollout to begin visitation options on June 20, 2020," the memo stated.

This latest news comes following the news that the death toll from COVID-19 in Connecticut has surpassed the 4,000 mark, and now stands at 31 in Newtown, according to the latest Department of Public Health numbers released to the Newtown Health District Friday. Newtown is currently reporting a total of 220 positive COVID-19 cases with a majority of those individuals recovering or fully recovered.

District Director Donna Culbert clarified, however, that one of those deaths occurred at the end of April, and another on June 3.

As of June 3 at 8:30 pm, the total number of laboratory-confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases reported among Connecticut residents is 43,239; including 41,171 laboratory-confirmed and 2,068 probable cases. There were 373 patients hospitalized with laboratory confirmed COVID-19, at that time, and there have been 4,007 COVID-19-associated deaths.

In recent days the state has begun splitting confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths alongside probable cases. As a result, on June 3 Fairfield County had 15,133 confirmed and 710 probable cases, and 1,002 confirmed and 291 probable virus-related deaths.

Among 131 nursing homes for which PPS data have been collected, 1,269 (14%) of 8,891 residents tested were found to be COVID-19-positive. Most residents who tested positive did not have symptoms of COVID-19 disease at the time of testing.

Help For Municipalities

On June 4, Lamont announced that his administration is establishing the Connecticut Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund Program, which will set a process by which municipal governments will receive reimbursements from the state using the federally supported Coronavirus Relief Fund to offset their expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are certainly sympathetic to the needs of the municipalities during this unprecedented public health emergency and remain willing to assist them in offsetting their related expenses,” said Lamont. “This first round of reimbursements to our towns and cities is only the beginning. This ongoing situation is dynamic, and we must adjust to the changing landscape in real time. Let there be no doubt, we are reimbursing municipalities for their full cost of their expenses to date, and we stand with them amid the continued efforts to protect our communities from this virus.”

According to Melissa McCaw, Secretary of the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM), the state agency that will administer the program, this is a first step in addressing municipalities’ direct costs related to the COVID-19 crisis through June 30.

"The towns and cities across this great state critically require this support through the Coronavirus Relief Fund, and will also be able to avail themselves to other federal and state programs to help with their expenses and hopefully we will soon see federal action that will allow us to backfill lost revenue at the state and local level as that is critically important but remains unaddressed by the four federal COVID relief bills to date,” she said.

In April, the Lamont administration asked all 169 municipalities to provide the state with information on their actual and projected expenses expressly related to combating the public health crisis from between March 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. To date, municipalities have reported nearly $40 million in direct costs during this period.

Newtown Finance Director Robert Tait initially reported in April that $94,000 had been spent and as of June 4 was estimating the total local outlay of funds to cover virus-related expenses would be approximately $231,000.

Federal rules prevent states from using the CARES Act funding to backfill lost government revenue and require the money to only be used for direct expenses related to the pandemic. To fund this program, the administration is setting aside $75 million and will re-evaluate this allocation for reimbursements beyond June 30.

In addition to this municipal reimbursement program, the state is using its share of CARES Act funding to cover the large costs associated with testing, the purchase of personal protective equipment, additional assistance to nursing homes, and increased state agency needs that will also directly and indirectly benefit municipalities.

The Lamont administration also previously notified Connecticut’s towns and cities and their respective boards of education about $111 million that is available to them through the Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief Fund (ESSERF), which is also part of the CARES Act. These funds will help offset increased education expenses, which are typically the largest annual expense incurred by municipalities.

This funding will complement the $27.8 million already announced for the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund and can be used to ensure each student has access to the technology and connectivity they need for remote learning, improving distance learning curricula, addressing how to safely reopen after the pandemic, and providing social and emotional supports for students.

Latest Executive Orders

On June 3, Lamont signed the 50th Executive Order No. 7WW enacting the following provisions:

*Technical clarifications regarding the ballot petitioning process for the August 2020 primary and November 2020 general election: Makes technical clarifications to the ballot petitioning process of Executive Order No. 7LL to make it clear that individual petitions do not need to be mailed to the registrar of voters.

*Further clarification of limits on alcohol service and sales related to catering: Permits caterers to provide outdoor service at any location allowed by their license type so long as the event meets the requirements of all executive orders, limits on social and recreational gatherings, and Department of Economic and Community Development sector rules.

Mortgage Relief, School Graduations

That same day, Lamont and Banking Commissioner Jorge Perez announced that over 45 banks and credit unions have agreed to extend their voluntary participation in the Connecticut Mortgage Relief Program, which provides relief to consumers facing financial hardship due to COVID-19. The program, launched on March 31, 2020 and set to expire on May 31, 2020 will now run through July 30, 2020.

“While the state continues its progress towards safely reopening, Connecticut residents continue to be impacted by the economic fallout of the pandemic” Governor Lamont said. “By extending the Connecticut mortgage relief program through July 30, 2020, credit unions and banks have demonstrated their commitment to help their members and customers through this crisis. I am grateful for their participation in this program.”

The program, launched on March 31, 2020, extends a 90-day grace period for all mortgage payments. That means participating financial institutions will continue to offer mortgage-payment forbearances of up to 90 days, which will allow homeowners to reduce or delay monthly mortgage payments.

Those institutions will continue to provide the opportunity to extend forbearance agreements if faced with continued hardship resulting from COVID-19. This agreement means that participating banks and credit unions will continue to not initiate any new foreclosures, foreclosure sales, and evictions for another 60 days.

It also extends the relief on certain fees until that date. The mortgage relief program, applies only to mortgages owned by banks and credit unions, also known as “portfolio mortgages.”

On June 3 Lamont also announced that after consulting with Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona and state public health officials, he has determined that school districts will be permitted to hold in-person graduation ceremonies beginning July 6, following certain guidelines, including a requirement that they be held outdoors, limited to a maximum of 150 people in attendance (including graduates), and proper social distancing protocols must be followed.

The present requirements related to drive-in ceremonies will continue to apply if schools decide not to hold in-person ceremonies. These requirements include compliance with all public health related rules, orders, the instructions in standing Connecticut State Department of Education and Department of Public Health guidance, and that where:

1. Cars are parked immediately next to each other, all car windows must stay closed

2. Cars are parked at least six feet from each other, car windows may be open. All individuals in the car must wear masks.

Concurrently, the Connecticut State Department of Education has released guidance to every school superintendent in the state detailing rules for operating in-person summer school programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Developed by the PK-12 subgroup of the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group with input of educators, students, parents, health officials, and the public, the rules state that in-person summer school programs can begin on July 6, 2020, provided that locations comply with certain requirements and the health and safety plans are reviewed with the district’s local director of public health and school medical advisor, if applicable.

To read the summer school rules, CLICK HERE

To read a guidance document on preparing for a safe return to classroom learning, CLICK HERE

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