Lamont extends exec orders to Nov. 9; Covid travel advisory now includes 35 states

Gov. Lamont has extended all of the unexpired executive orders he has issued during the Covid-19 pandemic to Nov. 9, where they will remain in effect unless they have a specific expiration date or are earlier modified or terminated.

The orders ”“ which had been set to expire today ”“ were issued under the March 10 public health and civil preparedness emergency declarations.

Included in those orders is one that protects hospitals and nursing homes from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

State Sen. Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford), ranking member of the Aging Committee, has sent a letter to Lamont seeking details about what the state is doing to prepare for any potential resurgence of Covid-19 in Connecticut”™s long-term care facilities.

“Seniors in our nursing homes deserve answers and Connecticut must do more to restore confidence and trust in the state’s ability to protect the most vulnerable,” Kelly wrote. “While Connecticut is in a much better place today than most other states, our state failed nursing home residents in the early days of the pandemic. Approximately 74% of deaths due to Covid-19 in Connecticut occurred among nursing home residents, significantly higher than the national average of 40%.

“Nursing home residents continue to be isolated from their families, resulting in further decline and physical and mental health issues,” the letter continued. “Nursing homes have testified that Connecticut had a serious PPE issue and will have a serious funding issue if resurgence occurs. Residents experienced something deeply traumatic this spring, and we need to make sure they will never experience that pain, terror and suffering again.”

Kelly”™s letter asks multiple questions of Lamont regarding the administration’s preparation in six major areas:

Planning for a potential resurgence in nursing homes
Providing access to personal protective equipment
Improving and maintaining testing
Visitation policies
Nursing home funding
Community based services

Click here to read the full letter.

As of yesterday, the state has conducted over 1.28 million tests, recording 53,782 positive cases and 4,474 Covid-related deaths. There are 50 patients currently hospitalized with Covid-19.

In Fairfield County, there have been 18,385 confirmed and 750 “probable” cases, along with 1,103 confirmed and 314 probable deaths related to the virus. There are eight people hospitalized.

In addition, the regional travel advisory between Connecticut, New Jersey and New York that directs incoming travelers from states with a significant community spread of Covid-19 to self-quarantine for a 14-day period has been updated. It now includes Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia on the list of impacted locations. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have been removed from the list.

The quarantine applies to any person traveling into Connecticut from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10% test positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

The list of impacted locations is updated once per week every Tuesday. As of today, the full list of impacted locations falling under the travel advisory includes: