Is this starting to feel normal yet? It remains remarkable how many things have changed and are continuing to change. One example is the thinking around masks.
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The White House is expected to announce a recommendation that people in hot spots (like Connecticut) wear face coverings when out in public.
There has been an increase in volunteers making masks at home, and even a Connecticut hospital is now accepting mask donations.
If you want to make your own, The New York Times offers instructions.
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Connecticut...
Topline
- The peak of coronavirus cases is still at least a week away from Connecticut.
- Connecticut is facing a $500 million budget deficit at the end of the fiscal year.
- New retail shopping regulations are in place, including the number of people in store and creating one-way aisles where appropriate.
By The Numbers
All numbers are as of April 2 at 7 p.m.
- 112 deaths from COVID-19
- 3,824 confirmed cases
- Fairfield County: 2,132
- New Haven County: 647
- Hartford County: 539
- Litchfield County: 141
- Middlesex County: 74
- Tolland County: 67
- New London County: 29
- Windham County: 21
- Pending address validation: 174
- More than 18,300 people tested
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The Latest
- The ACLU of Connecticut is suing the Department of Correction on behalf of several inmates seeking to be released from prison. “People who are incarcerated in Connecticut are in imminent danger from COVID-19. The longer Connecticut fails to act to protect them, the closer our state comes to a deadly and unconstitutional disaster,” said Dan Barrett, the ACLU of Connecticut’s legal director. Separately, there are calls for Gov. Ned Lamont to release juveniles in detention. At least three youth have tested positive for COVID-19 at a facility in Hartford.
- Thousands of people in Connecticut have tested negative for COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have it. One doctor advises that if you’ve likely been exposed to the coronavirus or have symptoms, assume you have the infection, even if you test negative.
- The virus is wreaking havoc on the state’s budget. Before all of this, Lamont said the state was expecting a revenue shortfall of $60 million for the fiscal year. Right now, the estimate stands at $500 million, and the peak of the virus is still at least a week off. “Almost all of that … is related to income tax and sales tax revenue going down,” Lamont said.
Other Reads On The Coronavirus
- The Coronavirus Is the World’s Only Superpower - Susan B. Glasser for The New Yorker
- What happens in Cooperstown if the kids of summer can't arrive? - Michael A. Fletcher for ESPN
- Volunteers Sew 400+ Masks - Emily Hays for The New Haven Independent
Coronavirus Freebies
There seems to be a divide in the country: those with less free time than ever, and those who are bored out of the minds. I’m in the first category, but I know there are lots of people rewatching The Office for the 14th time.
Several services are offering free access to their products for people hunkering down at home.
- HBO is offering 500 hours of programming for free, including shows like The Wire, The Sopranos, VEEP and Silicon Valley.
- SiriusXM is free through its app through May 15. You can listen to everything from NPR and PRX to Howard Stern and The Beatles.
- Learn to play guitar through Fender with a free three-month trial. It should be enough to get a newbie started, but there are tons of great, local music instructors who are still doing lessons remotely during the coronavirus.
- Your local library! Although you can’t go in and pick out a new book, many libraries have digital services. My library in Lebanon recently joined Hoopla, which has e-books, audiobooks, graphic novels, music and movies for free to users with a library card. There are different services available, so check out what your library has to offer.
How are you passing the time? I’m eagerly awaiting to get back into woodworking. Let me know at tives@ctpublic.org or on Twitter.
Stay safe. Stay sane. Stay distant.
