Geraldo Reyes Jr

Due to the continued increase and uptick in COVID-19 positivity rates, Waterbury remains on the Red alert list.

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.

Positivity for the Future

“Friends and family, continue to get tested for COVID-19, there are plenty of options to get tested in Waterbury. For those of you on schedule to get the COVID-19 vaccination please do not miss this opportunity, you can call 2-1-1 or 311311 if you’re having complications with trying to register online. Waterbury has two vaccination sites ready to meet the needs of all our citizens, we respectfully ask everybody to wait your turn, when its your turn don’t miss the opportunity.” - State Rep. Geraldo Reyes

Weekly update of the Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Alert Map: 161 of 169 municipalities in red zone alert level

The Connecticut Department of Public Health released its weekly COVID-19 Alert Map, which indicates that 161 of 169 towns and cities in Connecticut are currently 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 Bridgewater, Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Norfolk, Scotland, Union, and Warren, all of which are in the gray alert level.

The color-coded zones include:

• Red: Indicates case rates over the last two weeks of greater than 15 per 100,000 population
• Orange: Indicates case rates between 10 to 14 cases per 100,000 population
• Yellow: Indicates case rates between 5 and 9 per 100,000 population
• Gray: Indicates 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; and municipal leaders and local health directors.

The COVID-19 Alert Map is updated every Thursday afternoon and can be found in the Data Tracker page of the state’s coronavirus website.

Data updates on vaccine administration in Connecticut

The following data represents the total number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in Connecticut, as reported to the state as of yesterday:

• First doses administered: 358,019
• Second doses administered: 101,238
• Total doses administered: 459,257

So far, the state has vaccinated 49 percent of its population over the age of 75. Connecticut remains in the top four states in the nation for vaccine distribution.

Connecticut is currently in phase 1b of its COVID-19 vaccination program. Right now under this phase, individuals over the age of 75 can receive the vaccine. Soon, the phase will expand to include individuals between the ages of 65 and 74, and individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 who have underlying health conditions. Residents and staff of congregate settings and frontline essential workers will soon also become eligible during this phase.

Information on Connecticut’s COVID-19 vaccination program is available.

Governor Lamont signs 89^th executive order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19

Governor Lamont signed another executive order – the 89^th since he enacted the emergency declarations – that builds upon his efforts to encourage mitigation strategies that slow down transmission of the virus.

All of the provisions in this order either relax a restriction, extend a relief measure, or expand some existing form of relief to help businesses, residents, and institutions better respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Executive Order No. 10 enacts the following provisions:

• Exclusion of individual stimulus payments from benefit eligibility calculations: Repeats and expands the provisions of Executive Order No. 7CC, which exempted any CARES Act stimulus payments from eligibility calculations for state-provided benefits. This expands the exemption to all federal COVID-related stimulus to capture CARES Act II stimulus.
• Suspension of reapplication filing requirement for the additional veterans tax relief program: Suspends the biennial filing requirements required under state law for veterans who were granted tax relief benefits for the Grand List year 2018 and who are required to recertify for the Grand List year 2020, and allows such taxpayers to automatically maintain their benefits for the next biennial cycle ending in Grand List year 2022.
• Suspension of reapplication filing requirement for the Homeowners’ – Elderly/Disabled Circuit Breaker and Freeze Tax Relief Programs: Allows people who already qualify for these municipal tax relief programs to remain eligible without submitting the documentation that is normally required every two years.
• Use of commuter parking facilities as needed for COVID-19 testing and vaccination: Suspends the state statute that required Department of Transportation commuter lots to be used only for commuter parking for carpools, vanpools, and mass transportation, and permits at these facilities the establishment and operation of COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites.
• Renewals of liquor permits extended: Extends the postponement of the new permitting fee structure imposed by a state law passed in 2019 and was scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2020.
• Paid leave requirements for staff of local and regional boards of education: Requested by teachers and vetted by superintendents, this order requires local and regional boards of education to continue to provide two weeks of paid leave (or equivalent for part-time staffers) for school district employees who have to miss work because they were required to self-quarantine due to COVID-19, the school closed because someone at the school was exposed, they need to care for someone subject to quarantine, they were diagnosed with COVID-19, they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking medical attention, or they were required to care for a child whose school or place of care was closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19. Federal legislation mandating this expired on December 31, 2020.
• Relaxation of limits on religious gatherings: Eliminates the numerical cap on size of religious gatherings and maintains the capacity limit for these gatherings at 50 percent, effective immediately. All other health and safety measures, such as social distancing and face coverings, are still required.
• Absentee voting eligibility during COVID-19 pandemic: Permits all voters in any special election or municipal primary held prior to April 20, 2021 to vote using an absentee ballot, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason. This is similar to the order the permitted voters to use absentee ballots during elections held in 2020.