Maria Horn

Tomorrow the new session, my second term in Connecticut’s legislature, begins, as all House and Senate members will be sworn in, agree on a new set of rules, and hear from our leadership and the Governor. The swearing in ceremony itself will be very different this year.  In the past, the House chamber would be packed with family and friends, all eager to celebrate the start of a new year.  This year we will conduct much of the day from our offices in Hartford, with the swearing in itself conducted outside, masked, and with a six-foot distance between us and our colleagues.  Staff will not be present, and family participation will be constrained, with the focus on freshman legislators whose family members have not been part of the ceremony before.  While I am looking forward to being together with all of my colleagues, it will be hard to be both together, and separate. 
 
The work of the term has already begun, however, as we all collaborate on the rules for conducting committee work via Zoom and other digital platforms, while also ensuring that the public can both observe and participate.  It involves a level of technological proficiency that is new to many legislators.  Personally, I’m grateful to have acquired some Zoom proficiency over the last several months. 
 
If you want to watch any of the proceedings, check them out on the CT-N network. 

For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
 

Specific Updates for Our Community

 

Town	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Number of Tests	Number of Positive Tests
Canaan	5	0	647	6
Cornwall	36	0	1,427	43
Goshen	89	1	2,749	110
Kent	83	0	3,951	89
Norfolk	49	0	1,516	54
North Canaan	136	8	5,596	144
Salisbury	78	0	6,174	89
Sharon	53	0	2,970	81
Torrington	2,025	119	49,189	2,435

 

For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
 
Data updates on vaccine administration in Connecticut
 
As of yesterday, hospitals and long-term care facilities in Connecticut have reported to the state that they have administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 75,180 people.
 
All of the doses under this first phase of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine program are being administered to people in the healthcare workforce, and residents and staff of long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
 
The Lamont administration is estimating that all nursing homes in Connecticut will have finished administering the first dose of the vaccine to their residents and staff by mid-January. Assisted living facilities began administering the vaccine today.
 
Connecticut is among the first eight states in the United States that have administered the vaccine to more than two percent of its population.
 
 
Update on vaccinations at regional long term care facilities: Geer Village and Noble Horizons
 
Noble Horizons in Salisbury and Geer Village in North Canaan have made a substantial start on getting residents and staff vaccinated. 
 
At Noble Horizons, 72 residents received the vaccine received the vaccine on December 23, and all remaining nursing home residents (except those whose physicians recommended against it because of allergies) have registered to receive the vaccine on January 13.  There at 77 (and counting) residents signed up for vaccinations on January 13. The progress with staff is similar: 50 received the vaccine on December 23, and more than that have already registered for the January 13 vaccination. 
 
At Geer Village, today they completed the first day of vaccination at Geer Nursing.  Over 200 staff and residents received their first dose of the vaccine with no side effects.  The Lodge will be next later this week. 

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.
 

**Download: Report from December 31, 2020 on COVID-19 in Connecticut nursing homes **Download: Report from December 31, 2020 on COVID-19 in Connecticut assisted living facilities

 
Providing information to Connecticut residents
 
For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus. Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.
 
Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can call 2-1-1 for assistance. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 by dialing 1-800-203-1234. This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.