Weston, Redding & Easton Coronavirus Updates: 34 Confirmed Cases

WESTON/REDDING/EASTON, CT — The state Department of Public Health has confirmed there are 17 cases of the new coronavirus in Weston, 13 in Redding, and four in Easton, as of Saturday.

One Weston resident has died from the virus, reported March 25.

As of Saturday evening, Gov. Ned Lamont and public health officials said there have been 33 deaths, which is an increase of six over the past day, and the number of hospitalizations also increased by 32 to 205. There are now 1,524 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. That's an increase of 225 increase over the past 24 hours.

The governor has declared a "Stay Safe, Stay Home" program. All non-life-sustaining businesses in Connecticut have been closed, and Lamont has asked Connecticut residents to limit social gatherings to just five people. He has placed additional restrictions on retail operations:

• Restaurant payment and pickup operations are limited to the entrance of customers or third party delivery personnel into locations to the minimum extent necessary to pick up and/or pay for orders, use touchless payment systems, and require remote ordering and payment.
• Retail operations that have been allowed to remain open and permit customers inside are required to take appropriate and reasonable measures to ensure customers maintain six feet distance between each other, and manage resulting lines to maintain such distance while people wait to enter. Employers may not require employees to place items in customers' reusable bags, and the tax on single-use checkout has been suspended.
• All firearm transactions must be conducted by appointment only.

The State has announced it has suspended accepting applications for the Connecticut Recovery Bridge Loan Program. Over 4,000 applications have been received, and the funding has been doubled to $50 million. Any business that did not file prior to the deadline may consider the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Assistance Program.

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Weston has closed both its tennis and basketball courts, as of Saturday. This stems "partially in response to information being posted in groups in our neighboring communities calling for people to come to our courts to get their play in," according to a notification on the town website.

Weston athletic fields and running track will remain open for adults and children under the age of 16 who are supervised by adults. All athletes must maintain a distance of at least six feet from one another. Beginning March 30, the athletic complex will be supervised by school security staff during normal school hours "and they will be supported by the Weston Police Department if needed," according to the notification from the Town.

Weston Public Schools, and the schools in the Easton/Redding/Region 9 District, are all closed until April 20. Students are currently engaged in distance learning.