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March 15, 2020

Gov. Lamont closes schools, joining 23 other states

Photo | CT Mirror Gov. Ned Lamont flanked by (from left) Fran Rabinowitz, the leader of the state’s superintendent\s association, Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, Josh Geballe, his chief executive officer, and his wife Ann Lamont
By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT Mirror

Gov. Ned Lamont on Sunday ordered all public schools closed through the end of March in his latest attempt to slow the spread of the potentially fatal coronavirus.

The governor also announced he is meeting tomorrow with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to discuss a coordinated, regional approach to closing restaurants and bars, saying he’s not prepared to close Connecticut establishments until he reaches an agreement with neighboring states.

“It doesn’t make any sense for Connecticut to do something and New York not because then people just go across the border, Lamont told reporters outside the governor’s residence in Hartford Sunday night.

Connecticut now has a total of 26 confirmed cases: six more since yesterday, though that number is likely much higher since testing has been limited. According to the governor’s office, the six new cases break down as follows: Fairfield county has one new case; Hartford county has two new cases; Litchfield county has one new case; and New Haven county has two new cases.

Lamont’s announcement to close schools starting Tuesday comes after governors in 23 other states – including Vermont and New Hampshire – have already shut down schools. New York officials announced Sunday that public schools in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County.

On Thursday, Lamont said he did not think it was necessary for him to order schools to close because local districts were already making the right call. With well over two-thirds of the public schools in the state already announcing plans to close, Lamont told reporters the additional step was necessary.

“I think we see the urgency of the situation,” he said. “It’s the prudent thing to do.”

The governors in New York and Massachusetts have declined to close schools statewide.

“It’s not that easy. It’s not that simple,” Cuomo told reporters Sunday. “Most families don’t have a caregiver at home.”

Closing schools has huge consequences. When schools close parents are often left scrambling to find child care and are left relying on elderly grandparents – the very people that the virus is impacting most fatally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 40% of grandparents currently provide childcare for their grandchildren and “school closures will likely increase this percentage.”

Lamont said Sunday he is unsure how long the closure will last.

“I have no idea whether it will be two weeks. But we are saying plan on two weeks for now,” he said during a press conference outside the Governor’s Residence in Hartford.

The CDC reports that data shows short-term school closures have minimal effect on containing the virus, but long-term closures can be effective.

“Available modeling data indicate that early, short to medium closures do not impact the epicure of COVID-19 or available health care measures (e.g., hospitalizations),” according to guidance issued by the CDC last week. “There may be some impact of much longer closures (8 weeks, 20 weeks) further into community spread, but that modeling also shows that other mitigation efforts (e.g., hand washing, home isolation) have more impact on both spread of disease and health care measures.”

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