CT Schools Reopening Decision Expected Tuesday

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut saw its 12th consecutive day of fewer coronavirus hospitalizations along with slightly fewer daily reported deaths. Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven counties are now on the downward trend of coronavirus infections, said Gov. Ned Lamont.

There were 61 more deaths and 24 fewer net hospitalizations reported Monday along with 886 positive cases out of 2,837 tests. The total number of confirmed deaths is now at 2,566.

More guidance on what will happen with K-12 schools in the near future will come Tuesday during the governor’s daily news conference. State Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona is scheduled to speak at the news conference. Schools are ordered closed until May 20.

Cardona issued a news release right after Lamont's news conference ended saying:

"When the effects of the pandemic required that schools across Connecticut cancel in-school classes on March 17, it took seconds to realize that education in Connecticut was forever changed. Connecticut has long been focused on closing gaps in opportunities, access, and outcomes between poor students and students with means, and between Black and Latino students and their counterparts.

In the wake of this public health emergency demanding an entirely remote learning environment, the sense of urgency around closing gaps today is unparalleled. This continued focus is required for educational equity, but also, Connecticut’s long-term economic prosperity depends on it.

I want to thank the Superintendents, Principals, Teachers, and all other educators and school staff across this state for their effort thus far to adapt, improvise and overcome. But I must encourage us all to remember that when fewer than 100% of the students are reading on grade level, or fewer than 100 percent of the students have the necessary technology to virtually connect with their school’s social/emotional support system, our work remains undone. We must keep at the forefront the current educational needs of our students, especially those whose access to quality education may face barriers due to the distance measures required in this pandemic, despite the herculean efforts by their teachers and district personnel. We cannot go backwards.

With the recent headlines around local districts having educational budgetary surpluses, we felt compelled to communicate our belief as educators that in no way does any district have “surpluses” during this pandemic if they have not exhausted those resources to support all of their students ’needs.

Additional federal stimulus funds will be available to support local municipal needs and I encourage educational leaders, as partners in the process, to scrutinize opportunities for the most effective engagement tools to reach our students and educate them. Stimulus funding is available to reimburse for equitable distribution of learning materials, tutorial services to combat learning loss, professional learning and support for educators whose jobs changed overnight, and social emotional supports for students who are collectively experiencing daily trauma. This social emotional support will need to be an integral part of our programming moving forward.

We recognize that the way we deliver instruction will continue to change and evolve, whether this is through Information Technology employees, teacher trainings, and maintaining appropriate safety materials in schools to prevent the transmission in months and years to come. Healthy schools will translate to healthy communities.

While many things are unclear during this time in our nation’s history, there is one thing that is not; this epidemic has further exacerbated inequities that have been there all along.

The cries from families, advocates and educators of inequities that we heard in March, both in Connecticut and nationally, should never fall silent. Every action taken will either promote inequity or work to erase it. As we have heard so many times over the last several weeks, we are all in this together. We recognize that the ways in which we deliver educational services will likely forever be changed moving forward. Let us all stand committed to preserve, as much as possible for the generation that will inherit the decisions we make, the ideals of a free and appropriate public education. As we do this, let’s work together to put meaningful actions to the belief that no child should ever be left behind," Cardona concluded in his comments.

It's expected that Cardona will decide the fate of the school year on Tuesday.

Lamont also announced Monday that nursing homes in Connecticut would receive direct shipments of personal protective equipment within the next one to two weeks from the national stockpile.

Coronavirus testing material will also go from the federal stockpile to states based on the need with the goal of regularly testing about two percent of the population, Lamont said; that’s about 70,000 individuals in Connecticut.

Connecticut has also joined a regional seven-state cooperative to purchase PPE. Although the federal government is helping more, states don’t want to be in the position they were in two months ago where there was a constant hunt for gear, Lamont said.

“Look, hope for the best, plan for the worst,” Lamont said referring to a possible resurgence in cases. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen this fall.”

Economically Connecticut small businesses did very well in the latest federal paycheck protection program loan batch. More than 30,000 Connecticut businesses got forgivable loans worth a total of $2.5 billion. The loans are designed to help companies maintain operations in the face of harsh economic conditions caused by the virus.

Doctors/State Legislators Worry About Reopening

State Sen. Saud Anwar(D-South Windsor), who works in the ICU unit, said he sees folks who are very ill. He said there has been “heroic teamwork” on the part of health care workers across the state.

“People are putting themselves at risk,” Anwar said of healthcare workers.

However, hospital workers, particularly ICU workers are experiencing heavy levels of fatigue both physically and emotionally, Anwar said. He said he personally has lived for quarantine in six weeks and many of his fellow coworkers are taking similar measures or are living at the hospital.

He said the number of hospitalizations is “slowly decreasing” and hospitals are getting better at managing the disease as they have more experience with it.

Anwar said the hospitals need more people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate blood for plasma testing. “We need donors to help save lives,” Anwar said.

He did say he is concerned from a “medical standpoint” about the state reopening on May 20 and wants to have further discussions with Lamont. He said there is a fear of resurgence on the part of healthcare professionals.

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Connecticut will have to watch the situation in Georgia and Florida cases over the next few weeks as the states have reopened several businesses, Anwar said.

Lamont said that he is open to throttling back business reopenings if Connecticut sees a resurgence of cases.

The state reopening task force concluded that Connecticut is small enough to reopen on a statewide basis, Lamont said. He doesn’t want residents from Fairfield County to drive to restaurants in other parts of the state and bringing the virus with them.

State Rep. William Petit (R-New Britain), who is also a physician by trade said some people want to open the state now and he said that would be “very dangerous.” He said this remains a disease we don’t understand. He said while most deaths involve older people there are healthy people in their 20s and 30s who are dying.

Petit said he’d like to see business owners be given a specific list of things they need to do prior to opening on May 20. He said businesses need time to make the necessary change.

Petit cautioned people who dine at restaurants after the reopening to stick with their immediate family due to how the virus can be transmitted asymptotically.