We are 35 days since our first confirmed Covid positive case in Connecticut.
36, 288 have been tested
10, 538 have tested positive
1562 are currently hospitalized, up 98 from yesterday
448 have died
The coronavirus pandemic has upended our lives. More than 10,000 people have died in the U.S. from COVID-19; our healthcare and other frontline workers are still fighting for personal protective equipment; and our educators are trying to make grab-and-go meals and remote instruction work. And as governors and mayors try to manage this crisis with a lot of resources from Congress, the president continues his mixed messages—from initially downplaying the crisis, refusing to prepare, and now focusing on Wall Street rather than people’s lives and well-being.
We have tried to stay connected in many ways, including our weekly Tuesday telephone town halls. This week’s town hall with Jerome Adams, the U.S. surgeon general, was a success. We had more than 50,000 members participate, and Dr. Adams spent nearly an hour answering questions from our members.
We know that in the best of circumstances, parents and teachers work together. However, how do we maintain this now during the COVID-19 crisis—especially with our most vulnerable students and families? Together, parents and educators must find ways to deal with the anxiety and trauma that are facing us and our students during the current pandemic.
In addition to Nathan Monell, executive director of the National PTA, we’ll hear from Dr. Pamela Cantor, founder and senior science advisor of Turnaround for Children, and Arthur Evans, Ph.D., CEO of the American Psychological Association. And we’ll have a parent and an educator highlighting some practices they’ve deployed to support students during this time.
If you signed up earlier to be on all AFT telephone town halls, you’re already registered. But if you would like to sign up specifically for this one, you can do so here.
Please share this registration link with your members. It’s important that they hear from us and see the value of our union.
We hope you and your family are safe and healthy.
And if you celebrate Passover or Easter, I hope you find spiritual peace in these holidays.
In unity,
Randi Weingarte
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Lyft, American Federation of Teachers to Provide Frontline COVID-19 Workers with Access to Discounted Rides in Communities Nationwide
New partnership will give AFT union members support with essential travel related to providing healthcare services, taking supplies to homebound individuals and more
For Release:
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Contact:
Oriana Korin
202-374-6103
Oriana.Korin@aft.org
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 9, 2020) -- Today, Lyft and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which represents approximately 200,000 nurses and healthcare workers nationwide, announced a new partnership to provide AFT’s frontline COVID-19 healthcare response members access to discounted rides for essential travel during the pandemic.
Throughout April, Lyft and AFT are supporting the transportation needs of members in locations across the country, including in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington state, Wisconsin and Oregon. Working directly with their local affiliates, members will be able to access a unique rider code issued by AFT for discounted rides on the Lyft platform for essential travel. The codes can be used for rides related to providing essential healthcare services; trips to grocery stores, food banks, and pharmacies; and rides for caregivers delivering needed supplies for homebound and self-isolating individuals such as older adults and those who are immunocompromised. AFT nurses will also be able to access free Citi Bike rides in New York City.
“In a national emergency, we’ll do everything we can to make sure everyone’s health and safety is protected, particularly our frontline healthcare providers, our public employees and other essential workers who are safeguarding the population. Sometimes, this means working with unlikely partners like Lyft to do whatever we need for our communities,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said. “I’m grateful to announce this April partnership with Lyft. If people need rides somewhere, Lyft helps them get there, and now Lyft will offer our members—many of whom are working directly on the frontlines of this crisis—a discount code, so that if they absolutely have to travel, they can do so safely, and hopefully within their budget. These workers take care of us, and now we hope they’ll let us help take care of them.”
“Lyft is proud to stand with the members of AFT who are fighting on the frontlines of this terrible pandemic. It is in times like these where new partnerships can be forged in order to strengthen and protect our communities nationwide,” Lyft Chief Policy Officer Anthony Foxx said. “Together, we will be able to overcome the challenges we face today and emerge stronger than ever.”
The partnership is part of Lyft’s broader LyftUp
initiative, the company’s comprehensive effort to expand transportation access to those who need it most during these critical and unprecedented times. In addition to AFT’s partnership, Lyft has activated extensive LyftUp efforts
across the country in response to the COVID-19 crisis, collaborating with public health entities, local governments, nonprofits and community organizations to provide access to free rides for vulnerable communities and critical workers, and help deliver essential goods to families and seniors – creating more opportunities for drivers as the same time.
To make sure riders and drivers know the best ways to protect themselves and those around them, Lyft is providing continuous updates on its website
. To learn more about how else Lyft is supporting its community during this time, visit its blog.
ABOUT LYFT
Lyft was founded in 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation and is available in all 50 states as well as select cities in Canada. Lyft is committed to effecting positive change for our cities and making cities more livable for everyone through initiatives that bridge transportation gaps, and by promoting transportation equity through shared rides, bikeshare systems, electric scooters, and public transit partnerships.
About AFT
The AFT represents 1.7 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.
Joann Regan of L&M RNs and Trung Le of UHP are featured in this AFT Video message.
Please, if you are asked to care for a Covid positive patient or a PUI (person under investigation/rule out) without an N95, please let me know at jbrady@aftct.org
Also, let DPH know at
Be safe,
John
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