Over the weekend, statewide hospitalizations for those affected by COVID-19 continued to decline while Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert was notified of the loss of two more local residents who had been hospitalized after being diagnosed with the virus.

Newtown’s Emergency Management officials also learned over the weekend that they will be involved in distributing Personal Protective Equipment or PPE — in particular, protective masks — to local businesses who requested to be on a list for them.

The health official notified The Newtown Bee Saturday, April 25, that the state logged two more Newtown residents who were victims of the coronavirus, both over the age of 80, and that the state had also previously adjusted the local count by removing one death.

“This may have been an individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19, and had recovered to the point of being discharged from the hospital and then subsequently died from a non-virus related illness,” Culbert said. On Sunday, April 26, the State Department of Health (DPH) said Newtown’s count of positive coronavirus cases stood at 99.

On Sunday, Connecticut’s number of coronavirus cases totaled 25,269 with 1,924 reported deaths. Between Saturday and Sunday, hospital admission of COVID-19 patients was down by another 44, marking the third straight day of declining hospitalizations.

Fairfield County cases now total 10,529, with 707 related deaths, and to date, 79,811 state residents are reported to have been tested for the disease.

Despite the apparent flattening of case stats and declines in hospitalizations, Governor Ned Lamont was still guarded Sunday about any wholesale plans to reopen state businesses and other temporarily closed facilities.

“When you take a broad look at the data over the last two weeks, we’ve shown that we can flatten the curve and control the spread of this virus through the kinds of social distancing measures that we’ve implemented — but we are not out of the woods yet,” Lamont said. “When it comes creating an action plan on the steps we should take next, our primary objective needs to focus on not causing any harm to the progress we have made so far, otherwise our infection and hospitalization rates will go right back up.

“Our health care system has been amazing throughout this pandemic, and we are going to continue working with them to ramp up testing even more, including through antibody tests and contact tracing,” the governor added. “This approach is key to getting people back to work and ensuring that workers are adequately protected when they return.”

Resources For Businesses

On Sunday, Newtown’s Emergency Management Agency notified The Newtown Bee that its personnel are taking the lead in helping connect local businesses to state distributions of protective masks. Late Saturday, Lamont announced that his administration is partnering with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) and its affiliate CONNSTEP on an initiative to distribute free face coverings to eligible, essential small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

Eligible businesses include those defined as essential businesses by the Department of Economic and Community Development.

“The more proactive measures we can take to prevent the spread of this virus and keep everyone healthy, the sooner we’ll be able to reopen operations,” Lamont said. “We were able to secure over 4 million masks this week that have replenished our supplies and put us in a position to support small businesses. I appreciate our partners at CBIA and CONNSTEP for partnering with us on this effort to get those needed face coverings out to essential employees.”

Eligible essential small businesses can request up to two free face coverings per employee by filling out the form by visiting www.ctcovidresponse.org/request-masks-for-ct-small-business.

Small businesses are strongly urged to create their own face coverings following CDC guidelines. This will ensure the limited supply of coverings go to small businesses that are struggling to secure their own supply.

Find CDC mask making guidance at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html.

View a video featuring Surgeon General, Dr Jerome Adams on making face coverings below:

Requested face coverings will be distributed next week through municipalities in which the businesses requesting masks are located. The local municipality will then contact businesses with a date, time, and location to receive the requested masks.

The distribution will continue while supplies last. The initiative is intended to help small businesses comply with the governor’s executive order requiring face coverings to be worn whenever social distancing is not possible, including in essential businesses.

Lamont has said with a growing number of new speedy, mass testing situations being established by the state and its partners, a slow move toward reopening will be rolling out with a careful, phased approach.

“In the coming days and weeks, we will be significantly increasing the state’s capacity to test our residents, specifically those first responders and essential employees who are on the front lines, because testing is a key component of reopening our economy,” Lamont said.

“Data has shown that a significant number of people who are infected don’t even show symptoms and are unaware that they are spreading this virus to other people,” the governor added. “This is why it is so important that we increase our testing, and working with the federal government and our state’s health care system we will be adding more collection sites and increase access to those who need it.”

Added SNAP & Resources

Lamont announced that the State of Connecticut received federal approval Friday for its plan to provide $72.3 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to children eligible for the free and reduced-price meals program. Authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the new Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program is expected to bring food benefits to about 270,000 Connecticut children who are not able to receive meals at school.

The Department of Social Services (DSS) initially estimates that it will issue approximately $34 million to 70,000 SNAP-eligible households and $38.3 million to 80,000 non-SNAP-eligible households for school closures extending from March 17 through May 20. DSS partnered with the State Department of Education on the plan approved today by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services.

DSS estimates that SNAP benefits will be deposited in EBT accounts beginning in mid-May. Families do not need to apply for these benefits, as children are automatically eligible because school is not in session.

The planned benefit is $267.90 per child enrolled in the free and reduced-price meals program. Additional benefits may be provided if school closures extend beyond May 20. Further information will be posted as it becomes available at www.ct.gov/snap.

State Senator Tony Hwang announced Monday he is scheduling a Zoom platform forum to share real stories of what is happening to businesses and how programs like the PPP or CARES Act are helping or lacking. Hwang is hopeful this program will provide a “voice” for our local small businesses that were denied approval or even access to federal stimulus funds to be heard and get the support and relief help that they need.

The meeting is set for Tuesday, April 28, at 7 pm, and it will be recorded and shared with the governor and other appropriate state officials and the media. Business owners interested in participating can pre-register for login credentials at https://bit.ly/3cTyzlr.

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: CLICK HERE

Residents can also review all prior COVID-19 updates and follow the newspaper’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages for breaking local and state reports.

Please check in regularly, share, and follow the newspaper’s hyperlocal coverage at newtownbee.com through the remainder of this public health emergency.