HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC and AP) - Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday he plans to ask Connecticut lawmakers to extend his public health emergency powers until April 20, noting that the state is beginning to see more cases of a highly infectious COVID-19 variant.
The Democrat's special executive authority, originally granted by leaders of the General Assembly last year to help speed up the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, was already extended once. It was set to expire on Feb. 9.
“We think by April 20 we’re going to have a really good handle on where we stand in terms of vaccinations, where we stand on the supply of vaccinations, where we stand on bending the curve, where we stand compared to that super contagious variant of the germ that’s out there hitting us every day right now,” Lamont said.
Lamont said if lawmakers have issues with any of the dozens of executive orders he has signed, they can always pass legislation that addresses them “on a one-off basis.”
The governor said he'd “take a look at" one order that provides legal immunity for nursing homes and hospitals during the pandemic, a protection that has drawn criticism from some families and nursing home advocates, but noted it “makes some sense” to keep it in place a little longer as facilities deal with the COVID-19 variants.
State public health officials confirmed Monday that the UK variant has been detected in four more residents, for a total of eight. All live in New Haven County.
Meanwhile on Monday, the two Republicans leaders of the Democratic-controlled legislature suggested extending Lamont's emergency powers only until March 1, allowing Lamont time to provide a “persuasive metric-based case” for extending any particular order. They said lawmakers should discuss which orders to enact into law and limit any future declarations to no more than 30 days, only to be extended by a vote of the full General Assembly.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, and Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, also want at least a 10-day notification for any modifications to sector rules for businesses and an end to the 100-person capacity limit on places of worship.
In other coronavirus related news:
RETIRED NUNS INFECTED
Local health officials have ordered a Connecticut home for retired nuns closed to visitors and the public because of a coronavirus outbreak that infected nearly half of the more than 70 residents there as vaccinations were underway.
The restrictions on the School Sisters of Notre Dame home in Wilton were ordered by town Director of Health Barrington Bogle, and state health officials were expected to visit the property Monday to help with the outbreak, First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice said in a statement Sunday.
Vanderslice said 30 residents recently tested positive for COVID-19, as did a number of staff members. Health officials are doing contact tracing in Wilton as well as in the communities where staff members live. There currently isn't any evidence of similar community spread in Wilton, Vanderslice said.
Residents who tested positive are being quarantined at a former skilled nursing facility on the property that is next door to the residences, said Caelie Haines, a spokesperson for School Sisters of Notre Dame. Any resident who needs more acute care will be taken to hospitals, she said.
“Our plans are to keep affected Sisters isolated from those who have not tested positive and keep them as comfortable as possible in their temporary rooms,” Haines wrote in an email.
Fifteen retired nuns recently received COVID-19 vaccinations under state guidelines, which allow vaccinations for people 75 years and older. The remaining residents and staff were scheduled to be vaccinated Monday, after town officials obtained permission to administer the vaccine to non-eligible residents and staff, Vanderslice said.
VACCINE APPOINTMENTS
Dr. Deidre Gifford, the acting Department of Public Health commissioner, said Monday that efforts are underway to beef up staffing on a vaccine scheduling assistance line and improve the state's vaccine scheduling website to improve the process.
Gifford said the United Way on Friday doubled the number of people staffing its 211 vaccine assistance line to help handle the large volume of calls, with plans to add workers next by next week. She said improvements are also being made to the website where those eligible can sign up for a vaccination appointment. Officials intend, for example, to include an interactive map that enables people to see where in Connecticut appointments are available.
The improvements come amid complaints raised by some senior citizens and advocates about challenges in securing an appointment. Currently, only people 75 years and older are allowed to sign up for a shot, besides those who were eligible under Phase 1A, which includes healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and medical first responders.
“You’re going to start to see improvements every single day,” said Gifford, who appeared at an appointment-only, drive-up vaccination clinic in East Hartford.
“The bottom line is, as everyone has alluded to, we’re getting about 46,000 first doses every week in Connecticut. So we don’t have enough vaccine to vaccinate everyone who wants it. Right now, we’re all going to have to be a little bit patient, but keep trying to get that appointment,” Gifford said. “And if you’re 75 and older, we want you to be vaccinated and we’ll get you a vaccine. It just may take a little a little bit of time.”
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INMATE DEATH
A 53-year-old inmate from the Bridgeport Correctional Center has become the sixth prisoner with COVID-19 to die this month.
The state Department of Correction says the man, who was awaiting trial on charges included the possession of child pornography, had been been transferred from the prison to an outside hospital for treatment on December 30.
He died Sunday night, becoming the 19th prisoner to die in Connecticut since the pandemic began.
