Corona Virus Update 4/22

I come to you with some sad news tonight. AFT Connecticut has lost our first member to Covid-19. He was a young man with a family. I know the members of AFT and the Labor Community send our love and support to his family. I will share more in future updates.

I was on a call with an epidemiologist from the DPH today. I had questions about their PPE guidance, because I feel what they publish can be unclear. 

She said that they follow the current CDC guidance, which I also find unclear. We do agree that PPE, including N95s should be used when dealing with Covid positive or PUI patients when supplies are adequate and that N95s should be reserved for aerosol producing procedures when N95s are in short supply. 

So the question remains, as it has since the beginning, what is the current hospital supply, how fast is it being used up (the burn rate), and what does the resupply look like.

DPH does not have the answers to these questions because the hospitals have not provided this information. We must continue to push.

A new piece of information from yesterday’s call is that Hartford Healthcare has been sending N95s to Boston for decontamination in a Battelle facility (another facility is being set up in New Haven now) these facilities can decontaminate N95s up to 20 times. So, there should be no reason for N95s to be withheld unless someone knows something they are not sharing. Finding out that HHC was sending N95s to Boston raised another question, how come our members don’t know about this and if they are doing so, why are they restricting use?

We talk with the Governor’s office and DPH again tomorrow.

I was on a weekly call with the members of the political subcommittee of the 4 L&M locals today. This is a weekly call with state representatives and senators. Today 4 of the local representatives were able to join us. The legislators have the opportunity to discuss their constituent’s concerns with healthcare executives. Since the last call a couple of issues have been cleared up. Members have moved from having to use a mask fro a week to having to use one for a day, and plexiglass has been installed in the registration area as per OSHA guidelines. This is an example of members becoming activists. No one can tell a story quite like those going through it.

Below is a letter from the Connecticut AFL-CIO pushing the governor to establish that if you are working and become positive for Covid-19, it would be presumed that your illness was work related.  Currently, you would have to prove that you did not contract the virus in the community. I would ask that you help by clicking on the link and sending an email. Thanks. 

I wrote a letter for the Action Network letter campaign: Urge Gov. Lamont to Establish Workers’ Comp Presumption During COVID-19 Pandemic

Courageous essential workers are serving their communities and keeping our state running during this public health emergency, often without adequate protective equipment and jeopardizing their own health in the process. With hundreds of corrections officers, doctors, nurses, police, fire fighters, grocery store workers, public transit workers, and other essential workers already having been exposed and potentially infected with the novel coronavirus, Gov. Lamont must order a workers’ compensation presumption so these critical workers can receive important healthcare and wage replacement benefits through the workers’ compensation system.

By issuing an executive order, Governor Lamont could create an irrebuttable presumption that the worker contracted the illness on the job. This would allow workers’ compensation claims to be processed in a timely manner and prevent these essential employees from having to go through a protracted appeals process with employers and/or insurance companies who will undoubtedly challenge their claims.

Since Gov. Lamont’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order (7H) and adherence to social distancing, these essential workers have no other exposure to COVID-19 except on the job. Creating a presumption will streamline their access to vital benefits.

Can you join me and write a letter? Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/workers-comp-presumption?source=email&

Thanks!

We are 46 days since our first confirmed case of Covid in Connecticut

69,918 have been tested

22,469 have tested positive 

1972 are currently hospitalized, up 23 today

1544 have died, up 121 today

Please be safe my friends,

John