Dear Chester,


Currently, Chester has had a total of 39 positive COVID-19 cases - most are nursing home residents and, sadly, we have had 8 deaths. Our nursing homes, independent and senior living complexes and group homes are doing amazing work taking care of the residents in their charge. It is not just Chester fighting this virus - our surrounding towns are suffering as well, even without the nursing home outbreak that we have had. 35 cases and 3 deaths in Clinton, 23 cases in Old Saybrook, 22 cases in Haddam, 10 cases and 2 deaths in Deep River, 15 cases in Essex. New Haven and Hartford counties are taking the brunt right now. We are not alone and this is not over. On the state side, we have had more than a week of decreasing hospitalizations, but today those hospitalizations went in the other direction. Let's hope this is a blip on the radar, since hospitalizations are a key marker in the reopening plans for Chester and Connecticut as a whole.

It is sometimes hard to remember that there is a vicious disease circulating among us. Our reaction to it is quite different if we have a friend or family member fighting to survive. Otherwise it is invisible and may not touch us at all. We may have it and be contagious and not even know. We have done and are doing a great job (mostly) in slowing this down and keeping each other safe. This is hard.

About reopening - t he big issues seem sort of simple - avoid crowds, wear masks, clean everything constantly, etc. It is while diving into the details that it gets complicated:

Can our restaurants stay afloat if they can only operate at 30-50% capacity, depending on their layout? Who wears masks (obviously not those who are eating). Is there enforcement of restrictions? What about bathrooms?

How do we protect massage therapists, hairdressers, yoga teachers, personal trainers, dentists, and others whose careers depend on close contact and touch? What about their clients? What happens to those whose boss wants to start up full speed, but the employee doesn't feel safe? What are their choices?

What is safe for the kids? Little League? Swimming at Cedar Lake? Playing on the playground equipment?. What do we do with kids who are just not capable of social distancing?

Bottom line - how do we plan in a way that balances health and safety with the ability to make a living and keep people housed and fed? We are not, as a society, used to being inconvenienced on any large scale. Some handle it better than others.

I spent a lot of time today reading everything I could find about the ReOpen Connecticut Advisory Group. An accomplished and capable group whose mission is to find ways to reopen everything possible without instigating a resurgence of infection that could send us back home to isolation. The date of May 20th has been floating around as a possible date for some businesses to reopen. Nothing has been formally announced, and the Reopen CT group has said that May 20th is their deadline to release their recommendations to the Governor. Personally, I am not confident that we know what will happen, in what order and with what restrictions. As difficult as it is, we need to remain patient and vigilant, and do everything in our power to stop the spread of the virus.

Don't forget about tomorrow night's Budget Hearing! I will not repeat all of the connection information since I know Jenny sent a reminder out earlier today. Wednesday night - 7 p.m. on ZOOM.

Lastly, thank you for reaching out. I love communicating with you and am trying to get back to everyone as quickly as possible with whatever links to assistance or answers to questions that I can. I appreciate your confidence and optimism and resilience.


Be well,


Lauren
Governor Lamont today signed another executive order – the 36 th  since he enacted the emergency declarations – that builds upon his efforts to encourage mitigation strategies that slow down transmission of the virus. Among other items  Executive Order No. 7II  deals with the following critical items:

  • In-person classes at all K-12 public school facilities in Connecticut will remain canceled for the rest of the 2019-2020 academic year and continue providing distance learning during this period. Schools will also be required to continue providing meals to children under the school lunch and breakfast programs for consumption at home, as they have been throughout this emergency. The governor is consulting with state and local education officials regarding whether summer school programming should commence as scheduled. He anticipates having guidance on that matter toward the end of this month.
  • Extension of the start date for imposition of a late fee for obtaining dog licenses from July 1, 2020 to August 1, 2020: Provides dog owners with a grace period through July 31, 2020 before a late fee is imposed for dog licenses, which are normally issued in June of each year. As an aside, the Chester Town Clerks are making arrangements for all dog licensing to be accomplished by mail due to the limitations of the pandemic and in the interest of public safety.


ELECTIONS AND VOTING

The Connecticut Secretary of State just released a comprehensive plan to ensure safe access to voting for our voters and poll workers during this very busy election year. Her office has released a very informative and thorough document that provides a lot of information attached here


Here is an excerpt:

The people of Connecticut should not have to choose between protecting their health and exercising their right to vote. The current circumstances of this pandemic make that choice a reality for many of our fellow citizens. The Secretary of the State is taking action to ensure that access to voting is a reality for all voters, no matter what the circumstances.

(1) Expansion of Absentee Ballot access –

a — The Office of the Secretary of the State will provide an absentee ballot
application to all eligible voters for the 2020 primary and general elections.

b — After processing by their town clerks, those who request absentee
ballots will be provided with absentee ballots via a mail house contracted by the Office of the Secretary of the State.

c — Secure drop boxes will be provided to every municipality so that ab- sentee ballots may be deposited by voters.

d — The Secretary of the State will offer a grant program to meet extra costs for processing and personnel which might be required for the town clerks due to increased demand for absentee ballots.

e — Pre-paid postage will be provided so that neither voters nor munic- ipalities have to pay to mail absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications back and forth. 
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Everything is beautiful and I am so sad.
This is how the heart makes a duet of
wonder and grief. The light spraying
through the lace of the fern is as delicate
as the fibers of memory forming their web
around the knot in my throat. The breeze
makes the birds move from branch to branch
as this ache makes me look for those I’ve lost
in the next room, in the next song, in the laugh
of the next stranger. In the very center, under
it all, what we have that no one can take
away and all that we’ve lost face each other.
It is there that I’m adrift, feeling punctured
by a holiness that exists inside everything.

I am so sad and everything is beautiful.

Mark Nepo