Cristin McCarthy Vahey

As families leave the holiday celebrations behind and parents and students navigate what is probably the most unique Spring Break they’ll ever have, we find the conversations about outcomes and social distancing beginning to include what we do next. The Governor has announced the formation of a Re-Open Connecticut Advisory Committee to look at how we move our state forward and take the necessary steps to transition to a new normal.

Though I wanted to make sure you are aware of this step, make no mistake that the message remains clear. We need you to stay home, continue to only interact with those you live with, leave home only for food, medical and necessary work needs. The models show that we are not quite at our peak here in Fairfield County. Don’t forget that once we do reach a peak, we face a potential plateau and then need to come down on the other side of the curve to get to true flattening.

Now is the time to adhere to what the Governor, First Selectwoman and our local emergency operations team are asking of us. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made in order to help assure the health and safety of our most vulnerable residents and our healthcare workers. What we do impacts one another.

Governor Lamont Announces Re-Open Connecticut Advisory Group

• Led by AdvanceCT and co-chaired by Indra Nooyi, the current board co-chair of AdvanceCT and the former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, and Albert Ko MD, who is a professor of Epidemiology and Medicine and a department chair at the Yale School of Public Health. This group, along with other CT health and business leaders will advise the administration with respect to re-opening our economy
• The group will be advised by CT resident Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and Ezekiel Emmanuel, who serves as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
• I have recommended one of our local academic leaders for inclusion on this body, as I believe it is important for those in our academic community with an ethics background be included in the conversation. The announcement of the full committee will be made later this week.
• CT will join a multi-state council, along with NY, NJ, MA, RI, PA and DE in an ongoing effort to have a regional approach to addressing the pandemic. Ms. Nooyi, Dr. Ko and the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Paul Mounds will represent CT on the council.

Fairfield News

• First Selectwoman Kupchick has announced that as of this morning, 12 Fairfield residents have died as a result of COVID-19. My heart is with the families and friends of those we have lost. As the Governor announced today, “We’ve lost more members of our Connecticut family. These are not just numbers, these are friends and family here in Connecticut.”
• The town has announced a COVID-19 Relief Fund. This fund will help to support our neighbors in need and will be coordinated by Operation Hope. I encourage all residents to donate as you are able.
• Last night, the Fairfield RTM voted in accordance with the Governor’s Executive Order 7S related to property tax payment. Our First Selectwoman today shared with residents, “Last night, the Fairfield Representative Town Meeting (RTM) approved a deferment program for taxpayers in Fairfield. Any real estate, motor vehicle, personal property or sewer taxes that became due on April 1st will not be considered delinquent if paid by July 1st. Also, all taxes that become due on July 1st will not be considered delinquent if paid by October 1st.” For more information, you can reach out to our tax collector, David Kluczwski by email or by phone at (203) 256-3100

IRS Economic Impact Payments

• Tax filers who have supplied direct deposit information to the IRS have begun receiving payments this week
• If you do not file, you can enter your information here to assure receipt of benefits
• Those receiving Social Security benefits do not need to take any steps to receive their payment
• If you file, but do not provide banking information to the IRS, you will have an opportunity, beginning Wednesday according to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, to enter this information on the IRS website. This will help you receive your funds in an expedited fashion.
• To track the status of your refund, click here.

Unemployment Filing

• If you have filed an initial claim, you cannot file the weekly claims until that initial claim has been processed. It may take a number of weeks before you receive that first reply.
• The state Department of Labor reports that they remain 5-6 weeks behind and are working diligently on a technical fix. They have quadrupled the workforce, who are working within the confines of a 40 year old COBOL system.
• If you have not filed and will be doing so in the coming days and weeks, please be sure to use the DOL tutorial. The FAQs are updated daily. Please also feel free to reach out to me with your individual questions

Relief for Renters

• All landlords are prohibited from issuing a notice to quit or beginning eviction proceedings before July 1, 2020
• For rent due in April 2020, landlords must grant tenants an automatic, 60-day grace period for payment, instead of the existing 9-day grace period
• For rent due in May 2020, landlords must grant a 60-day grace period for payment upon the request of tenants
  • A tenant must to notify the landlord that they have lost a job, lost hours, or otherwise lost revenue or faced significant increased expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
• If a tenant has a paid security deposit of more than one month’s rent, the tenant can apply all or part of that excess to April, May, or June rent

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, including an FAQ and other guidance and resources, click here.

Today’s Updated Data

• During the Governor’s daily press conference, he announced that Fairfield County hospitalization numbers have ramped back up after flattening for a few days.
• The number of testing is not going up as quickly as we’d like, as there remains a shortage of sampling kits. The administration is in communication with the CDC and are looking at alternative supplies for collection.
• The Governor was joined by Mayor Rilling of Norwalk and Gov. Boughton of Danbury today, both of whom emphasized the importance of continuing to adhere to the social distancing measures that have been put in place. Mayor Boughton said, “We can’t quit… This is tough medicine but we all have to take it.”

Previous COVID-19 Updates:

April 13
April 8
April 6
April 5
April 4
April 2
April 1
March 31
March 26
March 23
March 21
March 20
March 17
March 16