Connect with us on Twitter, @TheLaurelCT.
Here are the major news updates from today:
- Governor Lamont signed an executive order April 17 that enacts the following: Cloth face coverings or higher level of protection required in public wherever close contact is unavoidable and the postponement of presidential preference primary to August 11.
- A new app tracks your symptoms and you can also see how others around you are feeling without entering any personal information:
- New private student loan relief has been announced by the governor’s office. The measures include providing a minimum of 90 days of forbearance, waiving late fees and ensuring that no borrower is subject to negative credit reporting. More info, including a list of participating loan servicers, here.
- “The Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) formally announced Saturday it has formed partnerships with online personal finance company SoFi and credit-reporting agency Equifax to expedite the processing and payments of the state’s emergency bridge loan program,” according to New Haven Biz.
- The New Haven Register checks in with some residents to see how they are spending their stimulus money.
- “As of April 15, [CT Attorney General William] Tong’s office had received 520 complaints concerning 288 businesses in the state and has sent letters of inquiry to 215 of the businesses, including ‘several to Amazon and eBay retailers, and another 44 letters will go out Friday,’” CT Examiner reported.
- Emissions have decreased nearly 40% during the coronavirus pandemic. CT News Junkie has more.
- RiteAid to provide self-swab COVID-19 testing in seven states including CT. More here.
- CVS, in partnership with Abbott Laboratories, opened a rapid testing site in New Haven at 60 Sargent Drive, the former Gateway Community College. New Haven Register has more.
- Relief measures for residential renters in CT can be found here.
- You can find the Governor’s safe workplace rules for essential businesses here.
- The Hartford Courant has a special remembrance page for those who died in CT. Hearst CT Media Group also has a page dedicated to the lives lost from COVID-19.
- “The Connecticut Historical Society needs your help documenting life during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.” The Hartford Courant has more.
- Brewery, winery and other liquor permit holders may now home deliveries now available per the Governor’s executive order. Hartford Business Journal has more.
- DEEP has released stricter guidelines in response to the high volume of visitors at state parks and trails. More information from DEEP here. Because people are finding it difficult to maintain effective social distancing measures at certain public parks, DEEP has been announcing various closures as needed on social media.
- For information about the CT Dept. of Banking’s 90-day grace period for mortgages, visit the state site here.
- Gov. Lamont has asked the private sector to help supply the state with personal protective equipment (PPE). The state’s request for PPE can be found here.
- Volunteers are needed around the state. Find out more information here.
Positive COVID19 tests to date: 20,360
