HOW WE FEEL APP

Governor Ned Lamont announced  #Connecticut  is working with developers of “How We Feel,” an app created in response to the need for more information on  #COVID19 .

The app is free to download, does not require logging in or sharing personal details, and takes about 30 seconds per day. The app is intended for users to report any symptoms they may be experiencing; the information could reveal outbreak hotspots and give researchers more information about the way COVID-19 impacts people.

The information, over time, will be shared with medical researchers and institutions to gain new information on emerging outbreaks, identify new at-risk populations and measure how effective measures like social distancing can be for the average person. Up-to-date information about medical conditions can help researchers make faster decisions to slow or contain the virus; information will help them determine who is sick, how sick they are, where they are and how, where and when to deploy additional resources.

Cloth Face Coverings or Masks:

  • Wearing of cloth face coverings or masks in public places is required wherever close contact with others is unavoidable. This order is effective as of last night at 8:00pm Executive Order 7BB, 
  • CDC: How to Wear a Cloth Face Covering Cloth face coverings can be made at home using cotton fabric, bandana or a t-shirt. 
  • Purchase cloth face coverings and masks from local stores or online retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, Staples, or WB Mason. Many online retailers offer face coverings and masks in various colors, patterns, and sizes. www.antidotegear.comis a company in Danbury, CT and www.shopvida.com also sells replacement filters for their masks. 
  • Essential employees are required to wear masks in the workplace.   Safe Workplace Rules for Essential Employers
 
 
Drive-thru COVID-19 Testing:
  • CVS HEALTH opened a drive-thru test site on Friday, April 17, 2020 at 60 Sargent Drive, New Haven, CT.
  • Eligible Individuals who meet CDC criteria must pre-register in advance on-line at CVS.com
  • Results are received within 15-30 minutes.
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 
  • Yale-New Haven Health offers drive-thru testing but you must have an order from your healthcare provider to receive the test. 
  • Hartford HealthCare offers drive-thru testing but you must have a referral through the Hartford HealthCare Clinical Command Center. Call 860-972-8100 or toll-free 833-621-0600


Governor Lamont signs 30 th  executive order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19

Governor Lamont today signed another executive order – the 30 th  since he enacted the  emergency declarations  – that builds upon his efforts to encourage mitigation strategies that slow down transmission of the virus.  Executive Order No. 7CC  enacts the following provisions, among others:

  • Applicability of Executive Order No. 7S, Section 7 to additional critical and time-sensitive municipal fiscal actions: Expands Section 7 of Executive Order No. 7S, permitting a municipality’s legislative body and budget-making authority to jointly authorize certain actions by a majority vote of each body to include additional time sensitive and essential actions among which such bodies may authorize.

  • Clarification of time periods regarding suspension and modification of non-judicial tax sales pursuant to Executive Order No. 7S, Section 11: Clarifies the calculation of time frames to redeem certain interests in property after a municipality has sold the property to recoup unpaid taxes. Executive Order No. 7S extended those time frames.

  • Exclusion of federal stimulus payments in evaluating eligibility for state or local programs financed in whole or in part using state funds: Modifies state statutes to provide that individual stimulus payments under the federal CARES Act will not be counted as income or resources when determining eligibility for state benefits or services.

  • Alternative to physical presence in court for finding of irretrievable breakdown of marriage: Modifies state statutes requiring the physical presence in court of a party to a dissolution or legal separation prior to a finding that a marriage has broken down irretrievably to permit the court to accept not-in-person testimony from such parties sufficient to make such finding. However, this does not apply in any case where a restraining order or a protective order between the parties is in effect or an application for such an order is pending before the court.

  • Revised financial protections for people covered by insurance who receive out-of-network health care services during the public health emergency: Repeals Sections 2(a) and 2(b) of Executive Order No. 7U.


This Executive Order also has provisions regarding court appearances and other judicial requirements. More detail on this and all of the executive orders can be found by clicking on the links below.

LATEST COVID-19 FACTS
Connecticut announced another 545 positive coronavirus cases, 92 deaths and a net gain of 30 hospitalizations. That brings the totals up to 20,360 cases, 1,423 deaths and 1,949 current hospitalizations. More than 64,000 people have been tested in Connecticut.

Dear Chester,

I wanted to explain a little bit about the coronavirus numbers. According to the state coronavirus website, Chester shows 32 positive cases. That is both true - and not. First, we do have a higher number of infections in Chester than there are in neighboring towns. This is due primarily to the concentration of nursing homes and other congregate type housing facilities in our town. Five of those patients have passed away, and a couple have been discharged to recover at home. We have had 5 other residents test positive for the virus, with a couple of them needing hospitalization. We have had two positive nursing home employees who don't reside in Chester and have subsequently been moved off of Chester's list, and one reported positive patient who used to be a resident of Chester but has been gone for at least a couple of years. She was reported in the state count as being a Chester resident. The bottom line is that most of our cases are related to nursing home residents.
Even though the nursing homes have not allowed outside visitors for more than a month, once the virus is inside it is impossible to keep at least some other residents from being infected. Nursing homes immediately segregate ill residents from the rest of the population, and screen all employees daily. The staff are all doing yeoman's work and maintaining calm and professional care of the residents despite being quite literally under siege from COVID-19.
This is a very scary virus that we have not figured out how to protect ourselves from yet in our daily life. Please continue to follow the rules for "social" distancing, wear masks when out in public, wash your hands, etc. It is important that we all stay safe and healthy. This too shall pass - let's all be here when it does.


Be well,

Lauren