Dear Chester,

Governor Ned Lamont held a press briefing earlier today providing highlights of Reopen Connecticut. The Reopen Connecticut slide deck (click here to see document) shared during the press conference offers preliminary guidance on how Connecticut plans to reopen its economy during Phase One of a four phase process.

Key elements included are the guiding principles and social guidance for the May 20 th  start date as well as the requirements restaurants, offices, retail establishments and personal service businesses, such as hair salons and barbershops, must follow in order to operate.

The Governor’s Office is working with the Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman on a formal guidance document, which they have said they would release tonight or tomorrow morning. I was hoping to have it for you for this email, but it is clearly at this point not coming tonight. As soon as it is available, I will provide that information to you. I know that several businesses are already making plans and waiting anxiously for specific requirements. We will have our regular merchant meeting on Monday and will probably have a separate meeting with restaurant owners next week as well to talk about ideas and plans. I hope to be able to work with merchants and business owners throughout Chester to get us up and running as much as possible while keeping all of Chester safe.

We still do not know what will be possible with camp and with the public beach at Cedar Lake this summer but are working on it and will get the information out to the public as soon as possible.

Be well,


Lauren

With 12 days remaining in the countdown to May 20, a day where the state may begin reopening some operations and parts of its economy, Governor Lamont and state officials have given more details on the seven steps they believe are key to ensure the state can successfully reopen. Progress on the following subjects currently stands as such:
  • The state is on pace with a 14-day decline in average hospitalizations across the state, with COVID-19 statewide hospital admittance down 30 percent from peak numbers and no regional outbreaks currently seen.
  • A goal to increase testing capacity statewide to 42,000 tests per week is in the works, with efforts hoped to reduce the time it takes to receive test results and increase testing among asymptomatic individuals.
  • The state is in works to create a statewide contact tracing system that will help inform people exposed to COVID-19 that they may need to quarantine themselves.
  • Screening of vulnerable or high-risk groups is ramping up, with specific focuses on increasing testing including nursing homes, direct care workers, corrections staff and offenders, first responders and at-risk urban communities.
  • Hospitals are reporting adequate capacity for COVID patients and will begin resuming select procedures postponed due to COVID-19, with some mobile field hospitals to be taken down.
  • The personal protective equipment stockpile is growing and seeing strong results, with the supply chain stabilizing and the state reporting 30-day supplies of equipment available save for gowns.
  • Workplace safeguards against virus spread, including regulations for reopening businesses, are administered and released, with detailed protocols prepared for different business sectors.
MAIN STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
MAY 11, 2020  WEEK # 4 ACTIVITIES

Thank you to the village residents and businesses for their cooperation and patience with the downtown construction

In an effort to complete as much work as possible before businesses fully reopen, Colonna Construction will begin weekday operations at 6:30 a.m.

This crew understands the importance of business access and operation of a safe work zone. Chester constables are on site throughout the workday to maintain traffic flow, pedestrian safety and parking. Additional signage will be on site next week to make it easier to see where traffic flow should be.

During the past week, the voids under the sidewalk between the Village and River Tavern were filled.

The main storm drainage line between the old town hall and Otto's was installed. Decorative street lights were removed and work at the Chester wall started. With the completion of the main drainage outfall to the Pattaconk Brook, removal of the old street drainage system and construction of the new system will start along the north side of Main Street from the flagpole area to the new bridge.

Excavations for the new pipe, catch basin and temporary trench asphalt patching will be done in a sequence to ensure the street is safe and useable at the end of each day.

You will see that the "bumpout" in the Chester wall is being removed. The wall will be straightened out next to the stairs and the stones that are removed as part of the bumpout will be reused as part of the widening of the stairs.



THE RED BUTTON IS HERE!!!




Self-employed residents seeking aid can now apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance



The Connecticut Department of Labor today announced that it has made active the filing site so those who are self-employed can complete the necessary filing applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). Those seeking to apply should visit  www.filectui.com  and locate the red button labeled with the PUA designation. The site will accept applications from self-employed individuals, including independent contractors and “gig” workers who have already applied through the state unemployment system and have received a determination notice in the mail.
To date, more than 38,000 self-employed individuals have completed the first step of the federally-required two-step process. The first step, which requires individuals to file an application on the state unemployment system, generates a determination notice that is sent by applications via mail. The notice, also known as a UC-58, notifies those eligible to file as a self-employed person that wage data is not available and disqualifies them for state benefits. Under guidelines set by the federal government, this two-step process ensures accurate accounting and integrity measures.
Because self-employed individuals already applied through the state unemployment system, the newly-built PUA site will have a record of a person’s state benefit ineligibility status. The PUA system requires applicants to create an account with a unique password and ID. The secure site also collects the applicant’s name, birthdate, and social security number, in addition to wage information.
Applicants will also be asked the date when COVID-19 impacted their employment. Federal guidelines allow this to go back to February 2, 2020. If an unemployed status goes back to retroactive weeks, the system requires applicants to provide weekly earnings through the current week filing.

For more information on how to apply for benefits under the PUA system,  read the press release issued today by the Connecticut Department of Labor .



COVID-19 Tests Can Be Accessed Without Medical Approval

As part of the effort to rapidly ramp up COVID-19 testing among the public and increase the state’s capacity to reopen, Governor Lamont announced that regulations regarding COVID-19 tests have been lifted. Patients no longer need to receive a referral from a physician, physician assistant or nurse prior to receiving a COVID-19 test, and those tests can now be conducted by pharmacists.

This is a major step forward for the state as leaders seek to significantly increase daily testing capacity, especially in underserved communities and for individuals who may not have primary care physicians. Expanding access to testing will significantly inform and improve the state’s response to COVID-19, especially as new information about the virus is discovered. New testing won’t just help determine positive diagnoses among individuals with symptoms but will allow for increased discovery of asymptomatic carriers in high-risk locations like nursing homes, correctional facilities and health care facilities.



Small Business Owners, Workers Asked To Provide Input

The Department of Economic and Community Development is asking small business owners and workers to fill out two surveys to gather insight on reopening efforts: