Cristin McCarthy Vahey

Today, I had the opportunity to participate in a call with the Commissioner of Labor, Kurt Westby as well as leaders from the Connecticut Hospital Association. I’d like to share some of the information from that call, a Wednesday call with the white house and the Governor’s daily briefings. I will continue to update news and information on my Facebook page.

These are trying times, but we continue to stand together. I am proud of our community and continually thankful for the women and men who are helping us to stay healthy, safe and strong. Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can answer your questions, help connect you to resources or just serve as a listening ear.

For several additional charts and tables containing more data groups, including a town-by-town breakdown of positive cases in each municipality and a breakdown of cases and deaths among age groups, click here.

Symptoms, Virus Transmission & Testing

• Increasing evidence suggests that many people are contagious 48 hours prior to manifesting symptoms. This is why it is so important to stay home!
• Our hospitals report that they are seeing a number of symptoms not previously indicated, including diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of sense of smell or taste, headaches.
• At this point, if you are feeling ill in most any way, there is a presumption of COVID-19 and you are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days
• The CDC guidance on testing is to limit test to healthcare workers, those hospitalized with symptoms, people over 60 and people with underlying conditions. You need a doctor’s order to be tested

Rapid Assessment testing, being developed by Abbott, and available to be conducted in doctor’s offices, should be available at Stamford Hospital later this week. The hope is that these tests will be available around the state as quickly as possible. The CDC is directing where these tests will be deployed.

Hospital Capacity – PPE, Equipment, Beds

• Hospitals and all kind of providers continue to seek PPE. If you are able to donate, please do so here.
• As of Thursday afternoon, our state has just over 1,000 ventilators available and about half are in use. The state has requested an additional 1,500 from the federal government based on the projection needed for the peak, but this request has not been fulfilled. Hospitals are working to convert other machinery that can be used and are also working with manufacturers to assist with 3D printing of adapters in the event we do not receive the number of ventilators needed. The Governor noted that new ventilators take many weeks to produce and we will reach the peak in CT prior to that time. This is another reason why it is so important that we stay home.
• Approximately 600-700 suppliers were referred to the state Department of Administrative Services. The staff team has been working 24/7 to vet these folks and purchase needed equipment. If you have a lead for a supplier, please reach out directly to Carol.Wilson@ct.gov and Devin.Marquez@ct.gov. For efficiency of communication, please include both Carol and Devin on your e-mail.

Health Insurance

• The Access Health Enrollment period has been extended to April 16^th. The insurance available on the exchange can be more affordable than COBRA options. Particularly if your income has changed, check back to compare prices. As with many of our systems right now, demand is high, so please be patient as you interface with the folks at Access Health.
  • To enroll with Access Health, you must do so by phone. Call (855) 365-2428
• No one should lose insurance right now. That’s why CT is the first state to put in place a 60-day grace period for insurance payments. Starting yesterday, no insurer in Connecticut – including life, health, auto property, casualty, and other types – may lapse or terminate a covered insurance policy because a policyholder does not pay a premium or interest for 60 days.

Unemployment Insurance

• In 2019 there were a total of 180,000 unemployment claims filed. There have been 220,000 claims filed in CT in the last 18 days. This has led to a backlog in processing resulting in what is currently approximately a 5 week delay in payments. Both the Governor and federal partners are working to resolve this issue. The Department of Labor software platform is an outdated program that was slated to be replaced next year, so they are working within those constraints, as well as the difficulty of staffing up to meet the demand.
• Before filing for unemployment, DOL recommends first using the online tutorial and taking a look at their FAQs, which are updated daily! This will assure you provide accurate information and avoid any additional delays in the claims process.
• Changes to existing unemployment benefits as a result of the federal bills includes the following.
  • Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (Plus Up) – an additional $600 / week in unemployment benefits
  • Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – adds 13 weeks of eligibility; CT has asked federal government to waive work search requirements
  • Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – eligibility for those who have exhausted unemployment insurance and those who normally does not qualify, including self-employed, gig workers, church/synagogue workers or non-profits whose employer has opted out. This is an entirely new program and the state is awaiting guidance documents from the federal government. DOL suggests that those in this category wait until the PUA process is “stood up” as they say before attempting to file. The Department is working with a contractor to create this system and do not currently have a known completion date for that process.
• Commissioner Westby signed an agreement with the US Department of Labor March 28 for these programs, with the intent that the effective date of claims would be March 29^th. There are ongoing discussion as to whether or not claims will be made retroactive prior to March 29^th.
• For those with an approved claim, please continue to file weekly claims reports. If you receive an error message, know that payments will be retroactive. You can contact me for assistance.