On Thursday, May 7, the community is mourning the loss of two more of its residents to COVID-19 according to the Newtown Health District. Director Donna Culbert said both individuals were older than age 70.

Newtown's health office had also logged 135 active cases as of Thursday.

Statewide, a total of 31,784 cases of COVID-19 have been reported (+789) with 1,385 currently hospitalized, another decline of 60 since Wednesday. And there have been 2,797 COVID-19-associated deaths statewide as of May 7 (+79).

To date, Connecticut has tested 116,174 residents, and on Thursday, Governor Ned Lamont and his COO Josh Geballe said testing facilities are now opening to asymptomatic individuals. The governor added that individuals no longer needed a doctor's order to receive a COVID-19 test.

Lamont was also joined at his daily press briefing by the co-chairs of the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, Dr Albert Ko and Indra Nooyi. The governor led the session with a deeper dive into seven criteria he would need to see to trigger a May 20 start to ramping up the state's economy.

The first would be a 14 day decline in hospitalizations. Today, he said the state is down 30 percent, and there are no regional outbreaks. "We get an A+ - we're in the green there," Lamont said in terms of the admission numbers.

Next would be a satisfactory increase in testing. Lamont pledged the state would be completing 42,000 per week by May 20. Testing subjects will include a robust daily number of all symptomatic patients, an increasing number of asymptomatic individuals, 48-hour testing turnaround, numerous sustainable test processing partners, and a robust network of key suppliers.

Lamont said State Comptroller Kevin Lembo will be heading up negotiations with testing labs, and the state would be "nailing down contracts with key suppliers," opening further supply lines over the next two weeks to two months.

The next criteria involves contact tracing. Lamont said 20 Health Districts will be piloting a contact tracing system next week - the platform is live now. He added that volunteer recruitment of tracing specialists is underway anticipating 700 tracers being on board in the coming weeks. "We want to ramp up the human element along with the technology," Lamont said.

Protections of vulnerable populations would need to be in place. "I cannot overemphasize concentrating on our vulnerable populations," Lamont said. He said state resources will be increasingly focusing on congregate situations like nursing homes. Also first responders, corrections officers, direct care workers, and those in at risk urban areas would need improved protections. To increase protections, Lamont said new initiatives would involve enabling pharmacists to order/collect COVID-19 tests.

The Governor would also need to be satisfied about the state's healthcare capacity. "If we have a flareup, hospitals can be overwhelmed," he said. In terms of capacity, Lamont said Connecticut is around 40 percent right now. But the state would need to be closer to 20 percent, or the governor said, "we rethink openings and priorities." Hospitals would also be resuming select postponed procedures, and several large temporary mobile hospitals would be taken down.

Another goal would be to maintain at least a 30-day supply of PPE. "Our state stockpile is strong - the supply chain is stabilizing," Lamont said.

Finally, the state would have to be maintaining specific workplace safeguards. In the coming days, Lamont committed to issuing detailed protocols for each business sector. As they finalize a raft of new protocols for reopening, Lamont said state officials will be combining industry input with public and occupational health input with labor leaders and agencies like OSHA also at the table.

New Orders & Business Surveys

On Wednesday, Lamont signed his 37th Executive Order — No. 7JJ — that enacts the following provisions:

Applicability of Executive Order No. 7S, Section 8 – Suspension of reapplication filing requirement for the Homeowners’ Elderly/Disabled, Circuit Breaker Tax Relief Program and for the Homeowners’ Elderly/Disabled Freeze Tax Relief Program: Enables the state to continue benefits in the Homeowners’ Elderly/Disabled, Circuit Breaker Tax Relief Program and for the Homeowners’ Elderly/Disabled Freeze Tax Relief Program without the taxpayer having to recertify eligibility.

Distance learning and remote testing certification for DEEP programs: Authorizes the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to conduct classes and testing remotely using online methods or any other feasible means.

Tolling of land use and building permits: Extends the period of validity of approval or permits issued by a municipal land use agency or building official so they do not expire during the state of emergency.

Allowance of suspension of in-person voting requirements by members of the public for critical and time-sensitive municipal decisions: Authorizes legislative bodies of municipalities the ability to adopt or amend ordinances or resolutions deemed essential; approve, enter into, or amend existing contracts or agreements deemed essential; or option, acquire, transfer, lease, dispose, or sell any real or personal property as deemed essential without complying with any requirements for in-person approval by electors or taxpayers, including annual or special town meetings requiring votes or referenda.

Also on Wednesday, Connecticut's Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman is encouraging small business owners and workers to fill out two surveys to help gather important insight on the state’s reopening efforts:

*The Small Business Reopening Survey is for business owners and will help understand the current status and implications of reopening - access it HERE

*The CT Worker Sentiment Survey will help understand how employees feel returning to the workplace - access it HERE

Both surveys were launched by the nonprofit organization AdvanceCT, which works in collaboration with the state to engage, retain, and recruit businesses and advance overall economic competitiveness in Connecticut.

Fraud Task Force Formed

On a related subject, Attorney General William Tong, US Attorney John Durham, representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo today announced the formation of a joint federal-state task force combating COVID-19-related fraud in Connecticut.

The task force will investigate and prosecute a wide range of misconduct related to the pandemic, including price gouging, health care and government program fraud, consumer and small business scams, lending scams, charities fraud, and cyber fraud. Violators may be subject to civil fines and penalties, as well as state or federal criminal prosecution.

Connecticut residents may report COVID-19 related fraud to the task force by contacting the Office of the Attorney General via e-mail at attorney.general@ct.gov or by calling 860-808-5318. The Office of the Attorney General is coordinating closely with prosecutors and investigators at the US Attorney’s Office and Chief State’s Attorney’s Office on criminal and civil fraud cases.

In addition, residents may report COVID-19 related fraud to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or by CLICKING HERE

In other news, AARP Connecticut recently met virtually with federal lawmakers to urge more help for older Americans and their families as they face growing health and economic challenges due to the coronavirus crisis. Residents in nursing homes, those who are food-insecure, and people who have lost their jobs are particularly in need.

Leaders from AARP Connecticut held virtual meetings with lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the US Senate, including Representatives Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes, and John Larson, and Senator Richard Blumenthal and the staff of Senator Chris Murphy. Representative Jahana Hayes has scheduled a virtual meeting with AARP Connecticut for May 15.

Calling For Legislation

The visits are part of AARP’s nationwide Virtual Lobby Week initiative, in which AARP is calling for federal legislation to:

Protect Residents in Nursing Homes and Other Care Facilities — Residents of care facilities have been hard hit by this pandemic, including the 19,319 residents in Connecticut’s 215 nursing homes. Based on the latest available data, 4,814 Connecticut nursing home residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and 1,249 have died. AARP urges that facilities be required to provide and support virtual visitation for their residents, so they can remain connected to loved ones and their families can stay apprised of their health and well being.

AARP is also asking Congress to support increased testing, adequate personal protective equipment for staff, and sufficient staffing in all long-term care facilities. Finally, AARP is also urging the daily public release of the names of nursing homes and other care facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases among residents and staff and ensuring transfer and discharge rights for residents and their families.

Invest More in Federal Nutrition Programs and Offer Greater Flexibility — To ensure older adults can continue to access food through the pandemic and economic crisis, AARP urges Congress to temporarily increase both the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) maximum benefit and the minimum monthly benefit. AARP also asks to suspend all rulemaking that would restrict SNAP eligibility or reduce benefits, as well as explore ways to expand access to online grocery shopping and delivery using SNAP benefits, which also helps protect public health.

Provide Additional Support for State and Local Governments — More financial support will help state and local governments meet emerging needs. States are likely to exhaust their unemployment insurance (UI) trust funds, and Congress should provide grants to ensure benefits continue to be paid. Further, states that adopt mail-in balloting to protect public health during upcoming elections are likely to require more funding.

To learn more about AARP’s efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic CLICK HERE

Also on Thursday, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $7,529,929 to 16 health centers in Connecticut including the Connecticut Institute for Communities in Danbury, which is slated to recieve $317,014 to expand COVID-19 testing and other related health programs.

The funding for health centers is part of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.

HRSA-funded health centers will use this funding to expand the range of testing and testing-related activities to best address the needs of their local communities, including the purchase of personal protective equipment; training for staff, outreach, procurement, and administration of tests; laboratory services; notifying identified contacts of infected health center patients of their exposure to COVID-19; and the expansion of walk-up or drive-up testing capabilities.

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.

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.