PROTECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RESPONSE — INCREASED DISTANCING, EXPANDED FAMILY ASSISTANCE, AND ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT SUSPENSION
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2020, I issued declarations of public health and civil preparedness emergencies, proclaiming a state of emergency throughout the State of Connecticut as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States and confirmed spread in Connecticut; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7, dated March 12, 2020, among other things, prohibited gatherings of 250 people or more for social and recreational activities, including but not limited to, community, civic, leisure, and sporting events; parades; conceits; festivals; movie screenings; plays or performances; conventions; and similar activities, and suspended various statutes and regulations to protect public health and safety; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7A, dated March 13, 2020, authorized the Commissioner of Public Health to restrict entrance into nursing homes and similar facilities to protect people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7B, dated March 14, 2020, among other things, modified in-person open meetings requirements, waived certain rules to mitigate the critical shortage of hand sanitizer and personal protective equipment (PPE), maintain and increase the availability of childcare, and provide for increased healthcare resources and facilities; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7C, dated March 15, 2020, among other things, cancelled classes in public schools for at least two weeks, provided for closure and remote conduct of business at Department of Motor Vehicle branches, extended deadlines for municipal budget preparations, and suspended or modified laws and regulations governing health care data and visitation at certain health care and congregate care settings; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7D, dated March 16, 2020, restricted social and recreational gatherings of all types to fewer than 50 people, closed bars and restaurants to all service except food and non-alcoholic beverage takeout and delivery, closed gyms, fitness centers and movie theaters, and prohibited on-site operations at off-track betting facilities; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7E, dated March 17, 2020, among other things, waived the requirement for an 180-day school year, limited fingerprinting availability to that for critical requirements, extended the duration of various licenses and permits under the authority of the Commissioner of Emergency Services and public protection, and suspended certain requirements for recoupment of overpayment and hearings conducted by the Department of Social Services; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7F, dated March 18, 2020, ordered the closure of Large Shopping Malls, the closure of places of public amusement except public parks and open recreation areas, expanded Medicaid telehealth coverage, waived in-person service, hearing, and screening requirements for certain Probate Court proceedings in vulnerable group care settings, and clarified my order cancelling school classes; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7G, dated March 19, 2020, ordered the postponement of the presidential primary, suspended non-critical court operations, expanded the availability of telehealth services, and enacted additional public health measures; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7H, dated March 20, 2020, limited the workplace operations of non-essential businesses, and on-profit, created a process to designate those that are essential, and provided for consistency across the state in governmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7I, dated March 21, 2020, among other things, granted various forms of financial relief to recipients of public health and economic assistance, enacted measures to protect the health of children in the care of the Department of Children and Families, and enacted a series of measures to allow municipalities and their administrative bodies to conduct essential business while reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7J, dated March 22, 2020, among other things, expanded the availability of temporary retired workers to fill critical staffing needs, provided authority to expedite acquisition and leasing of property to meet emergency response needs, and clarified restrictions on the operations of non-essential businesses; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7K, dated March 23, 2020, among other things, suspended non-critical operations of the Probate Court and the Workers' Compensation Commission, authorized remote notarization, and provided the Commissioner of Public Health with additional authority to expedite the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7L, dated March 24, 2020, among other things, extended the cancellation of public school classes through April 20, 2020, opened fishing season early to provide a safe recreational activity during this period of limited availability of other options, provided for continued availability of medical marijuana for patients with debilitating conditions, eased the ability for certain patients to transfer between nursing homes, and provided for increased availability of vital records services; and
WHEREAS, my Executive Order No. 7M, dated March 25, 2020, preserved the rights of the public in certain proceedings under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act and authorized commissioners of state agencies to suspend or modify administrative deadlines and other requirements of Chapter 54 of the Connecticut General Statutes and other agency-specific administrative requirements; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that spreads easily from person to person and may result in serious illness or death; and
WHEREAS, the World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 appears to be higher for individuals who are 60 years of age or older and for those who have chronic health conditions; and
WHEREAS, to reduce spread of COVID-19, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Connecticut Department of Public Health recommend implementation of community mitigation strategies to increase containment of the virus and to slow transmission of the virus, including cancellation of gatherings of ten people or more and social distancing in smaller gatherings; and
WHEREAS, confirmed COVID-19 infections and resulting hospitalizations have increased significantly in recent days, at the same time that residents of areas with high infection rates have arrived in Connecticut, creating a need to enact further mandatory distancing measures to limit the rate of spread of the disease; and
WHEREAS, Public Act 19-117, codified as Section 22a-246a of the 2020 Supplement to the Connecticut General Statutes, in order to reduce waste and litter and their resulting harm to the quality of the environment and waters of the State of Connecticut and associated environmental costs, imposed a 10-cent-per-bag tax on single-use plastic checkout bags at various retail and other establishments; and
WHEREAS, while the Connecticut Department of Public Health has examined this issue and found that existing precautions, including frequent handwashing for at least 20 seconds or use of alcohol based sanitizer, avoiding touching the face with unwashed hands, and routine cleaning of public spaces and frequently handled items will greatly reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission for workers in high volume retail settings, many employees of retail establishments have expressed concern about the handling of such bags; and
WHEREAS, retail and especially grocery and restaurant workers are making a critical contribution to keeping food readily available to the public during this public health and civil preparedness emergency, their continued contribution is essential to the state's ability to enact appropriate distancing measures, and their concerns are respected; and
WHEREAS, Connecticut law mandates annual statewide assessments to measure student achievement and to determine school accountability, in addition to the federal testing requirements which were waived by the U.S. Department of Education on March 20, 2020 for the full state; and
WHEREAS, in light of the major disruption caused by the cancellation of classes statewide in Connecticut, on March 20, 2020, the Connecticut State Department of Education secured a federal waiver for the 2019-20 school year from (i) all state-mandated assessments in all grades and subjects; and (ii) district/school accountability measures under the Every Student Succeeds Act; and
WHEREAS, demand for firearms and ammunition since the declaration of this public health and civil preparedness emergency has increased dramatically, for example with 19,943 firearms purchase or transfer authorizations completed in March 2020 so far compared to 12,572 in all of March 2019, resulting in difficulty for dealers in transmitting authorization requests, larger than normal lines and crowds, and significant burdens on the staff and systems who process such requests, compromising their ability to process the requests and perform other critical emergency services and public safety duties; and
WHEREAS, upon a proclamation that a civil preparedness emergency exists, section 28-9(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes authorizes the modification or suspension in whole or in part by executive order of any statute or regulation or requirement or part thereof that conflicts with the efficient and expeditious execution of civil preparedness functions or the protection of public health;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, NED LAMONT, Governor of the State of Connecticut, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Connecticut, do hereby ORDER AND DIRECT:
1. Restriction of Social and Recreational Gatherings to No More Than 5 People. Effective immediately, and through April 30, 2020, unless earlier modified, extended, or terminated by me, the prior order set forth in Executive Order No. 7D, prohibiting social and recreational gatherings of 50 people or more, is hereby amended and modified to require that all such gatherings of six (6) or more people, including but not limited to, community, civic, leisure, or sporting events; parades; conceits; festivals; plays or live performances; conventions; and similar activities, are prohibited throughout the State of Connecticut, except that religious, spiritual or worship gatherings shall not be subject to such increased restrictions, and shall instead remain subject to the prohibition on gatherings of 50 or more people, provided that they employ reasonable and appropriate distancing measures. To further clarify this order, it does not apply to government operations, private workplaces, retail establishments, or other activities that are not social or recreational gatherings.
2. Restrictions on Restaurant Payment and Pickup Operations. Where reasonably practicable, restaurants, eating establishments, and any bars that remain open for sales of food for off-premise consumption, shall limit entrance of customers into their locations to the minimum extent necessary to pick up and/or pay for orders, use touchless payment systems, and require remote ordering and payment, whether by telephone, computer, mobile application, or other technology. Nothing in this order shall require any such business to acquire or use ordering or payment technology that they do not already possess, prohibit drive-through ordering and pickup, or prohibit in-person payment or cash payment where there is no reasonable alternative. Previously issued guidance for hospital and business cafeterias remains in effect.
3. Further Restrictions on Retail Operations. Any retail establishment that has been allowed to remain open and permit customers inside such establishment during this public health and civil preparedness emergency shall take appropriate and reasonable measures to ensure customers maintain six feet of distance between each other, and to manage any resulting lines to maintain such distance while people are waiting to enter, and where reasonably practical, employ touchless payment technology if they already have such technology available.
a. Firearms Transactions by Appointment Only. Effective immediately and through May 15, 2020, unless earlier modified, extended, or terminated by me, because the nature of certain regulated retail transactions, including purchase, sale, and transfer of firearms, ammunition, and their components or supplies, requires the customer's presence inside the business to accommodate certain parts of those transactions or associated background check processes, and in order to limit person-to-person contact as much as possible and manage the large increase in requests for authorizations for such transactions and the resulting burdens on the communications technology and public safety staff responsible for reviewing and providing such authorizations, any firearms dealer shall conduct all such transactions by appointment only, shall limit such appointments to a number that will maintain a distance of six feet between any customers and/or staff in a store, including customers and staff conducting such transactions, and shall allow entrance into their establishments only to those customers conducting such transactions.
4. Temporary Suspension of Tax on Single-Use Checkout Bags. All provisions of Section 355 of Public Act 19-117, as codified in Section 22a-246a of the 2020 Supplement to the Connecticut General Statutes, regarding single-use plastic checkout bags, are temporarily suspended through May 15, 2020, unless earlier modified, extended, or terminated by me. The Commisioner of Revenue Services shall issue any implementing order he deems necessary, and any guidance for businesses on accounting or other necessary measures during this temporary suspension.
5. Employees Not Required to Bag Items in Reusable Bags. Effective immediately and through May 15, 2020, unless earlier modified, extended, or terminated by me, no employer in a retail establishment shall require any employee to bag any item in a customer-provided reusable bag, provided that nothing in this order shall prohibit customers who wish to use such reusable bags from doing so; such customers shall bag their own items where the employee of the retail establishment declines to do so.
6. Suspension of 21-month Limit on Temporary Family Assistance. Section 17b-112 of the Connecticut General Statutes and any implementing regulations are modified to exclude from the statutory 21-month time limit on receipt of Temporary Family Assistance all months of such assistance received during the public health and civil preparedness emergency.
7. Suspension of School Testing Assessments for 2019-20 School Year. The provisions of Section 10-14n of the Connecticut General Statutes related to the administration of all state summative and alternate assessments; Section 10-14t, related to the administration of universal screening reading assessment for students in Grades K-3; and Section 10-265g, related to the administration of reading assessments in priority districts at the end of the school year, are hereby suspended for the 2019-20 school year. Any associated regulations, rules, and policies regarding statewide assessments are modified to authorize the Commissioner of Education to temporarily waive any requirements contained therein as he deems necessary to respond to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unless otherwise specified herein, this order shall take effect immediately and shall remain in effect for the duration of the public health and civil preparedness emergency, unless earlier modified or terminated by me.
Dated at Hartford, Connecticut, this 26th day of March, 2020.
Ned Lamont
Governor
By His Excellency's Command
Denise W. Merrill
Secretary of the State