Governor Lamont Provides Update on Connecticut’s Coronavirus Response Efforts

(HARTFORD, CT) – As the State of Connecticut continues taking actions in response to the global spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Governor Ned Lamont provided the following updates as of 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 23, 2021:

Data updates on testing in Connecticut

The following is a summary of the day-to-day newly reported data on cases, deaths, and tests in Connecticut. It is important to note that these newly reported updates include data that occurred over the last several days to a week. All data in this report are preliminary, and data for previous dates will be updated as new reports are received and data errors are corrected.

County-by-county breakdown of current COVID-19 hospitalizations:

For a series of interactive graphs and maps that provide additional data, including metrics related to age, gender, and race/ethnicity, as well as data broken down by every town and city in Connecticut, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”

Connecticut’s SNAP-eligible households to receive additional emergency food benefits April 27 and 28

The Connecticut Department of Social Services today announced that it will deliver $32 million in Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to over 220,000 Connecticut households on Tuesday, April 27, and Wednesday, April 28. This is the first time emergency SNAP benefits are going to all enrolled households, resulting from an executive order by President Biden.

Authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, this federal allocation will provide a minimum of $95 in extra food aid to enrolled families and individuals, raising the state’s total emergency SNAP funding to over $272.2 million since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Specifically:

• All 220,100 SNAP-eligible households statewide will receive the emergency benefits on their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards on either April 27 or 28 (the electronic distribution is being split over two days because of size).
• About 100,000 households already eligible for the maximum monthly SNAP benefit will receive an extra $95.
• About 120,000 households that don’t usually qualify for the maximum monthly SNAP benefit because of income or other factors will receive extra benefits of at least $95 but averaging an estimated $187 (depending on their specific benefit situation).
• With this additional $32 million allocation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, emergency benefits are totaling over $272.2 million in additional SNAP assistance statewide over 13 months, with commensurate spending at supermarkets, groceries, farmers’ markets, and other food retailers.
• The $95 increase results from President Biden’s January 22, 2021, executive order, which requires the USDA to consider new guidance allowing states to increase SNAP emergency benefit allocations for all households, including those previously ineligible to receive it. This increase is expected to be ongoing.
• All households also received their normal SNAP benefits, including the previously announced 15% increase from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, on one of the first three days of the month as they normally do, according to last name.
• If a household is granted regular SNAP benefits on or after April 27 or 28, the additional SNAP benefits will be added to the EBT card on a Friday, depending on the date of granting.

For additional information about SNAP, visit www.ct.gov/SNAP.

Next distribution of ‘Pandemic EBT’ food benefits going to families of 29,400 school students on April 25

The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education, today announced that $19.6 million in special food assistance benefits will start being distributed on Sunday, April 25, to the households of nearly 29,400 school students eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals and who do not receive services from DSS.

This is the next distribution in the current round of $88.6 million in food benefits going to nearly 220,000 schoolchildren through the federal ‘Pandemic EBT’ (or P-EBT) program. The benefits help ensure that eligible children in pre-kindergarten through high school continue to receive nutritious meals while learning from home or in hybrid models during the public health emergency.

Specifically:

• DSS is mailing Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to households of about 29,400 schoolchildren not currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Family Assistance (TFA), or HUSKY Health/Medicaid; and will deposit P-EBT food benefits into their new accounts beginning Sunday, April 25. The EBT cards will arrive with instructions on how to activate them and access the food benefits.
• This includes students attending a school participating in the Community Eligibility Provision, in which all students are eligible for free meals. These are households that do not currently have EBT cards because they are not enrolled in SNAP or TFA.
• Benefits may differ from student to student and depend on the learning model the student was in each month, with an average benefit amount estimated at $374 per student.
• Benefits can be used at any location that accepts SNAP/EBT cards. This includes famers’ markets and direct market farms.  In fact, enrollees can double the value of P-EBT or other SNAP benefits at farmers’ markets participating in Connecticut Fresh Match, found at www.endhungerct.org/services/farmers-markets. P-EBT participants will also have online access to eligible food purchases through delivery or curbside pickup at participating retailers Amazon, Aldi via Instacart, ShopRite, and Walmart (more at www.ct.gov/SNAP).

P-EBT food benefits were previously deposited in the EBT accounts of about 59,500 households (representing 101,187 students), currently enrolled in SNAP on Sunday, April 11. An additional 586 households (representing 997 students) enrolled in TFA, but not currently enrolled in SNAP, also received P-EBT benefits in their accounts at that time.

DSS also mailed EBT cards to about 69,600 Medicaid-enrolled households (representing 117,486 students) not currently enrolled in SNAP, and deposited P-EBT food benefits into their new accounts on Sunday, April 11.

Altogether, the students served include 217,466 public school students and 2,204 private school students who participate in the free or reduced-price meals program.

Households do not need to apply for P-EBT benefits, as DSS and the State Department of Education use attendance information provided by schools to determine if students are eligible for P-EBT. For more information, visit portal.ct.gov/p-ebt.

DSS and the State Department of Education are partnering to implement the P-EBT plan, which was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. The P-EBT SNAP funding for students who are eligible to participate in the free or reduced-price meals program was authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, with additional amendments made in the Continuing Appropriations Act and Other Extensions Act of 2021, as well as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

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.