Please take the time to watch Will Haskell’s town hall from Tuesday night. Full of important information, as always. Will is posting and hosting live feeds frequently – follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WillHaskellforCT/, call 860-240-0068, or email will.haskell@cga.ct.gov. He is committed to providing comprehensive, ACCURATE information about COVID19 and relief options available to individuals and business. He also suggests following Governor Lamont who is holding daily briefings, video available at https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus
Highlights from last night’s feed:
Testing is improving. 1000 tests yesterday, a sizable jump. Turnaround getting shorter. Testing is available by calling your doctor and getting a testing order. If you don’t have a dr, call hotlines at Nuance/Danbury 888-667-9262, or Stamford Health 203-276-4111. Hospitals are coping so far, being creative about expanding capacity. We have not peaked yet so this could change. National Guard is setting up temporary facilities.
***** Health Insurance: if not insured, there is a new special enrollment period that ends ** tomorrow April 2 ** enroll at ACCESSCT https://learn.accesshealthct.com/ or call 855 365 2428. The CARES Act calls for no co-pay for testing.
Unemployment benefits. File at http://filectui.com 100,000 claims in CT so far (vs around 5,000 during 2008 recession). When applying, DO INCLUDE your employer’s registration number and your expected date of return to work!! With this information your application can be processed immediately. If not included, application will be processed manually and can take 5 weeks.
Withdrawal from retirement accounts: CARES Act provides for penalty free withdrawal, taxable over three months, can be recontribute without being subjected to normal limit.
Small Business help: CT bridging loan program is at capacity and is not accepting more applications but hoping to make more funds available and start accepting applications again. Information about federal programs is available through the Dept of Economic and Community Development (DECD) hotline: 860-541-2111. March/April payments of sales tax and hotel occupancy tax can be delayed until May.
Mortgages: 50 CT banks have offered a 90 day grace period, no foreclosures, no impact on credit. Talk to your bank about their program.
Renters: No evictions for 30 days. Follow Will’s page for updated info.
