COVID-19 Updates 12/17

COVID
December 17, 2020
GOVERNOR LAMONT PROVIDES UPDATE ON CONNECTICUT’S CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE EFFORTS (Latest Data as of 5:00PM on Thursday, December 17, 2020)
Data updates on testing in Connecticut

County-by-county breakdown of current COVID-19 hospitalizations:
 

County

Current COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Fairfield County

296

Hartford County

375

Litchfield County

21

Middlesex County

41

New Haven County

382

New London County

76

Tolland County

0

Windham County

14

Total

1,205

For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, click here.

Weekly update on the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes and assisted living facilities

The following documents contain the weekly data regarding each of the nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Connecticut that have reported positive cases of COVID-19 among their residents. The data is presented as it was reported to the state by each of the facilities. If a facility is not listed, that means it is reporting that it does not have any residents who have tested positive.
Weekly update of the Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Alert Map: 166 municipalities now in red

The Connecticut Department of Public Health today released its weekly COVID-19 Alert Map, which indicates that 166 of 169 towns and cities in Connecticut are now in the red zone alert level, the highest of the state’s four alert levels.

The only municipalities in the state that are not in the red zone this week are Barkhamsted, Canaan, and Warren.

The red zone indicates municipalities that have an average daily COVID-19 case rate over the last two weeks of greater than 15 per 100,000 population. The orange zone indicates those that have case rates between 10 to 14 cases per 100,000 population. The yellow zone indicates municipalities that have case rates between 5 and 9 per 100,000 population, and those indicated in gray have case rates lower than five per 100,000 population.

The weekly alert map is also accompanied by a chart that provides guidance on recommended actions based on the alert levels for individual residents; institutions such as schools, houses of worship, and community organizations; as well as municipal leaders and local health directors.

The COVID-19 Alert Map is updated every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. and can be found in the Data Tracker page of the state’s coronavirus website.

Lamont administration notifies municipalities on updates to distribution of COVID-19 relief funds

The Lamont administration has delivered a letter to all municipal chief elected officials in Connecticut notifying them that the state will be increasing the levels of financial aid being sent to towns and cities to supplement their response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The funding comes from the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund, which utilizes federal funding made available through the CARES Act. These changes will reimburse municipalities for their reported and audited costs, establish a grant program for the municipalities, and assist municipalities by offsetting costs related to COVID-19 testing.

To date, the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM) has reimbursed municipalities for all reported claims through June 30, 2020, for a total of approximately $14.5 million from the Connecticut Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund Program. Notably, the actual incurred expenses through June 30 were significantly lower than municipalities originally estimated. The program originally was structured to provide funds on a reimbursement basis after the processing of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) claims. Due to the time delays in FEMA claims processing, and to maximize support to municipalities, OPM will be immediately providing a direct $45.5 million allocation of the program’s funds to support municipalities with their costs for the period between July 1 and December 30, 2020.

In summary, the Connecticut Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund Program funds of $75 million will be distributed as follows:

  • Reimbursed claims through June 30, 2020: $14.5 million
  • Final allocation with expanded usage: $45.5 million
  • Regional testing opportunities for municipal teachers and staff: $15 million

The Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund grants of $45,498,170 will be allotted based on the population formula below. (For a town-by-town allotment, click here.)

  • 33 percent population density
  • 33 percent population / Adjusted Equalized Net Grand List per capita
  • 34 percent population

Testing has been critical to slow the spread of coronavirus and mitigate its threat to public health, particularly for the most at-risk populations and our educational system. Therefore $15 million of the $75 million allocation has been reserved to expand regional testing opportunities for teachers and staff to mitigate this expense for LEA’s and municipalities and provide increased support for safe operations of Connecticut’s schools.