671 State Workers Refuse Mandate, Here's Who Faces Unpaid Leave

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont will authorize unpaid suspensions for over 670 unionized state workers who may be opposed to vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 tests, as early as Friday.

State Executive Branch employees had until last Monday at midnight to provide documentation of either their vaccination or intent to submit to weekly testing. Lamont said that state agency heads and human resources representatives have been working throughout this week directly with employees who are non-compliant but who intend to meet the requirements. Most non-compliant employees remain at that status due to incomplete submissions, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon, but there are 671 employees (2.2 percent) who are non-compliant with the executive orders.

"Actions related to employees deliberately in non-compliance will begin to be implemented as soon as tomorrow," the statement said.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, 78.5 percent executive branch state employees were fully vaccinated.

The Governor's Office also issued an agency-by-agency breakdown of the vaccinated, testing and non-compliant cohorts:

Statewide, the rate of COVID-19 related deaths have slowed during the last week's reporting period. Thirty-eight residents died over the past seven days, down from last week's report of 53 deaths.

The downward trend has been reflected in the coronavirus positivity rate reported by the state on Thursday, with 548 cases confirmed out of 32,205 tests taken, that rate was 1.70 percent.

The number of Connecticut towns in the COVID-19 red zone has also dropped, to 37, in the most recent data released from the state Department of Public Health. Most of the high-infection towns are in the eastern area of the state, while the lowest infection rates are typically found in the western cities and towns.

The color codes correspond to guidance from the health department. Populations in the red zone have reported 15 or more cases per 100,000 people over a two-week average.

Those towns still in the red category are: Ansonia, Ashford, Berlin, Bozrah, Brooklyn, Burlington, Canterbury, Columbia, Deep River, Essex, Franklin, Griswold, Hampton, Hartford, Killingly, Lebanon, Ledyard, Montville, New Britain, New London, Norwich, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Pomfret, Preston, Putnam, Salem, Sprague, Sterling, Thomaston, Thompson, Voluntown, Westport, Winchester, Woodbridge and Woodstock.

According to the latest weekly release of statewide data from DPH, 2,361,627 residents out of 3,105,947 eligible people have been fully vaccinated, yielding a 76 percent vaccination rate statewide. Connecticut continues to claim among the highest vaccination rates in the country.

Those residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 include more than 95 percent of those over the age of 65, 90 percent of those between 55-64, 82 percent of those between 45-54, 82 percent of those between 35-44, 74 percent of those between 25-34, 69 percent of those between 18-24, 79 percent of those between 16-17, and 69 percent of those between 12-15.

Predictably, residents in the eastern area of the state, with the highest coronavirus infection rates, are also least likely to be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the data released by DPH. Of all Connecticut municipalities, only Canaan has a fully vaccinated population.

Out of the 1,634 cases of COVID-19 recorded by the state Department of Public Health in the past seven days, 515, or 31.5 percent, were among residents who had already been completely vaccinated.

The number of residents hospitalized with the coronavirus held steady overnight, with 230 hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Most of them (88) can be found within hospitals in Hartford County.

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*Agencies with fewer than 100 employees include Office of Government Accountability, Connecticut State Library, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Secretary of the State, Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Council on Environmental Quality, Connecticut Siting Council, Department of Housing, Department of Agriculture, Freedom of Information Commission, Office of the Governor, Office of the Lt. Governor, Office of the Healthcare Advocate, Office of the Consumer Council, Office of Health Strategy, Office of Higher Education, Office of State Ethics, State Elections Enforcement Commission, and the Teacher Retirement Board.