Newtown’s cases of COVID-19 hovered just below 60 as nearly 5,200 others in Fairfield County logged positive test results Friday. By that time Connecticut was marking a statewide total in excess of 10,500 positive cases of the coronavirus.

Friday, Governor Ned Lamont’s office said 754 new positive COVID-19 cases since yesterday has brought the statewide total to 10,538. To date, more than 36,288 patients have been tested in Connecticut, approximately 1,562 patients have been hospitalized, and the total statewide total number of COVID-19 associated fatalities is 448.

Of 68 deaths newly included in today’s report, 19 were persons who tested positive for COVID-19 and 49 were persons who died during March 30–April 8 without being tested for COVID-19 whose death certificate listed COVID-19 disease as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death.

Among 215 nursing homes in CT, 96 (45%) have had at least one confirmed case of COVID-19. A total of 980 nursing home residents with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 have been identified of whom 264 (27%) were hospitalized and 142 (14%) have died.

Thursday found First Selectman Dan Rosenthal and Health District Director Donna Culbert reflecting on this weekend’s religious holidays in a COVID-19 world, and the challenges they pose to Newtown families normally gathering together in houses of worship and around family dinner tables.

View the latest video here:

On the heels of announcing an upcoming Executive Order that delayed school reopenings to May 20, Friday morning’s press briefing also brought difficult news for a huge number of other state businesses deemed “nonessential,” that would also now face the same potential reopening date.

That order was delivered a short time later on Friday.

That latest Executive Order enacts a series of additional protections for residential renters struggling to pay their housing costs during the COVID-19 emergency, ensuring they will not be evicted during the nationwide crisis and receive grace periods over the next several months.

The order also extended all previously enacted closures, distancing, and safety measures — including for schools, restaurants, bars, retail stores, gyms, and other establishments — through at least May 20. In addition, it permits food trucks to operate at certain highway rest areas, and also modifies educator certification testing.

Regarding his delaying school reopenings, Lamont said, “Out of the best interests of the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff, we feel this is the best approach at this time.”

“We’ll continue consulting with our public health experts and education officials in the coming weeks as the situation continues to change,” the governor said. “I want everyone to know that this is done out of an abundance of caution, and our education officials will continue to speak with school districts to help amplify their learn-from-home initiatives during this difficult time.”

The State of Connecticut also reported it has received a donation of hydroxychloroquine from Amneal Pharmaceuticals that will be distributed to acute care hospitals as they combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and work to ensure that critically ill patients have access to the medication. The Food and Drug Administration recently authorized emergency use of the medication to treat COVID-19 in certain hospitalized patients. Hydroxychloroquine is traditionally used to treat autoimmune disease such as lupus.

Approximately 400,000 tablets (4,000 bottles) of the 200mg hydroxychloroquine tablets have shipped and are starting to be received by hospitals. They went direct to medical facilities in order to ensure that patients have direct access to the medication and aims to limit hoarding and inappropriate use or prescribing.

The donation was secured through the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Drug Control Division with the collaboration of the Connecticut Hospital Association. The medication was sent to hospitals in the statewide based on the total number of beds the for which each hospital is licensed. Additional allotments were sent to hospitals supporting or expected to support recovery centers.

Executive Order Specifics

Under Friday’s executive order, the deadlines for all closure, distancing, and safety measures enacted to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 that are contained within previously enacted executive orders are extended through at least May 20.

This applies to imposing limits on restaurant, bar, and private club operations; closing on-site operations at off-track betting facilities; operations at gyms, sports, fitness, and recreation facilities and movie theaters, large shopping malls, and places of public amusement; imposing safety and distancing measures for workplaces and nonessential businesses; prohibiting social and recreational gatherings of more than five people, and restricting retail operations

Governor Lamont’s Executive Order No. 7X – includes a provision taking the following actions to protect residential renters during the public health crisis:

*All landlords are prohibited from issuing a notice to quit or beginning eviction proceedings before July 1, 2020, except for serious nuisance, such as physically harming another tenant or the landlord.

*For rent due in April 2020, landlords must grant tenants an automatic, 60-day grace period for payment, instead of the existing 9-day grace period.

*For rent due in May 2020, landlords must grant a 60-day grace period for payment upon the request of tenants. Under this provision, a tenant must notify the landlord that they have lost a job, lost hours, or otherwise lost revenue or faced significant increased expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

*If a tenant has a paid security deposit of more than one month’s rent, the tenant can apply all or part of that excess to April, May, or June rent. Under this provision, the tenant must notify the landlord that they have lost a job, lost hours, or otherwise lost revenue or faced significant increased expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During this crisis, these protections will allow residents to stay safe at home, while prohibiting landlords from charging late fees or interest for nonpayment and provide a buffer for the next couple of months,” Governor Lamont said. “Residential renters need to have added safeguards during times of emergency like this — they have rights and we will see to it that they are protected.”

Food Trucks & Certifications

Friday’s order lifts restrictions on commercial activity in Connecticut highway rest areas and permits food trucks to set up in these locations with the goal of feeding hungry truckers and other essential workers during the pandemic. The directive comes in the wake of recently rescinded federal prohibitions against the commercialization of rest areas nationwide, freeing the states to provide additional necessities.

Governor Lamont reiterated his directive that everyone should “Stay Safe, Stay Home” and restrict themselves to essential travel only. Truck drivers, he said, have no choice but to be out on the road making critical deliveries and pick-ups.

“These truck drivers are keeping Connecticut moving and are providing critical necessities to our state during this national crisis,” Governor Lamont said. “We need to make it as easy as possible to keep them fed around the clock.”

The April 10 order also modifies state statutes to authorize the commissioner of the Department of Education to temporarily defer any requirements regarding certification testing for educators as he deems necessary to address the impact of COVID-19 risks.

A prior order on April 9, in part, also suspends state statutes and regulations in all towns where the town clerk’s office is closed or so reduced in hours that it makes it unreasonable to have permits recorded. Permits shall be recorded as soon as the relevant town clerk’s office is reopened and staffed for routine business.

It also modifies state statutes to provide that all on-premise liquor permits in active status when Executive Order No. 7D went into effect on March 16, 2020, shall be extended by four months, including any business whose permit expired between March 16 and April 9.

Testing & Resources

To help ease the burden of those locally seeking COVID-19 testing, PhysicianOne announced its Southbury Urgent Care office at 900 Main Street South would begin testing on Saturday, April 11, from 9 am to 3 pm, for prescreened patients.

Patients must be medically evaluated prior to Saturday by a PhysicianOne Urgent Care provider via a Virtual Visit, but do not have to be prior patients of PhysicianOne Urgent Care to qualify for testing.

This testing site will also test all front line workers (healthcare workers and first responders) who have been exposed to COVID-19 even if they do not have symptoms currently. Testing is an important aspect in tracking and containing COVID-19, and this allows access to those who live in and around Southbury.

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

Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can also call 211 for assistance. The hotline and corresponding website is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance and TDD/TTY access.

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:

*Town of Newtown COVID-19 web page - CLICK HERE

*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CLICK HERE

*World Health Organization - 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.