(HARTFORD, CT) – As the State of Connecticut continues taking actions in response to the global spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Governor Ned Lamont provided the following updates as of 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 27, 2022:

Data updates on testing in Connecticut

The following is a summary of newly reported data on COVID-19 in Connecticut from the past 7 days.

To read the full data report, visit data.ct.gov/coronavirus and click the button labeled, “Data Report.” That website also contains several other data reports, including on the topics of vaccinations, schools, nursing homes, child care, congregate settings, and economic impact.

Data updates on vaccine administration in Connecticut

The following data was reported to the CT WiZ immunization information system as of October 25, 2022.

Total number of people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19:

Percent of people with at least one dose by age group:

• >95% of those 65+
• >95% of those between 55-64
• 92% of those between 45-54
• 91% of those between 35-44
• 88% of those between 25-34
• 85% of those between 15-24
• 73% of those between 10-14
• 51% of those between 5-9
• 12% of those between 0-4

To locate a vaccination clinic in Connecticut, visit ct.gov/covidvaccine.

Data updates on breakthrough cases in Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Public Health is reporting that as of October 26, 2022, a total of 289,918 cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated persons in Connecticut have been identified. Those cases account for 10.49% of the nearly 2.8 million people in the state who are fully vaccinated.

For more data on breakthrough cases in Connecticut, see pages 5 and 6 of this week’s extended COVID-19 data report.

Data updates on variants in Connecticut

The following data contains the cumulative number of SARS-CoV-2 variants that have been identified among Connecticut residents as of today:

• Omicron: 27,225 cases
• Delta: 17,236 cases
• Alpha: 2,525 cases
• Iota: 1,083 cases
• Other: 1,045 cases
• Gamma: 137 cases
• Mu: 84 cases
• Epsilon: 60 cases
• Lambda: 38 cases
• Beta: 23 cases
• Eta: 10 cases
• Kappa: 2 cases
• Zeta: 1 case

For more information on variants, see pages 7 and 8 of this week’s extended COVID-19 data report.

Pandemic EBT food benefits going to nearly 203,100 schoolchildren on Monday

The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE), today announced that $79.4 million in special food assistance benefits will be distributed on Monday, October 31, 2022, to the families of nearly 203,100 schoolchildren who are enrolled in the free or reduced-price meals program and who receive services from DSS.

This is the first distribution of food benefits that will go to a total of approximately 286,360 schoolchildren through the federal Summer Pandemic EBT: Children in School program. This provides Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to families of children who were eligible to receive free and reduced-priced meals at their school as of the end of the 2021-2022 school year and covers the summer period of July 2022 to August 2022. An additional distribution for approximately 83,270 children who do not receive services from DSS is expected to be announced in November.

Specifically:

• DSS is issuing benefits to the households of 203,100 children currently enrolled in the SNAP, Temporary Family Assistance (TFA), or HUSKY Health/Medicaid who were also receiving free and reduced priced meals in their school as of June 2022, regardless of learning model. DSS will deposit Summer Pandemic EBT food benefits onto the existing EBT accounts on October 31, 2022. For nearly 17,340 families that previously did not receive a Pandemic EBT card, new EBT cards will be mailed beginning on the first week of November 2022 and will arrive with instructions on how to activate them and access the food benefits.
• The planned one-time additional benefit is $391 per child enrolled in the free and reduced-price meals program.
• To date, before the upcoming October 31 distribution, DSS, in partnership with SDE, has provided more than $482 million in Pandemic EBT benefits for the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school years to more than 300,000 public and private school students who are eligible for the free or reduced-price meals program.
• Benefits can be used at any location that accepts SNAP/EBT cards. This includes farmers markets and direct market farms. In fact, enrollees can double the value of Pandemic EBT or other SNAP benefits at farmers’ markets participating in CT Fresh Match (more information on that program can be found at www.endhungerct.org/services/farmers-markets). Pandemic EBT participants will also have online access to eligible food purchases through delivery or curbside pickup at participating retailers Amazon, Aldi and Price Chopper/Market 32 via Instacart, Acme, Big Y, BJ’s Wholesale Clubs, Food Bazaar, Geissler’s Supermarkets, PriceRite, Sam’s Club Scan & Go, ShopRite, Stop and Shop Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods.

For more information, visit ct.gov/snap.

Providing information to Connecticut residents

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus. Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.

Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can call 2-1-1 for assistance. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 by dialing 1-800-203-1234. This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.