HARTFORD, Conn — Mayor Luke Bronin alongside local leaders provided an update on the city’s response to COVID-19 Monday afternoon.
The city has 49 confirmed cases of COVID-19, Bronin is calling on the people of Hartford to social distance and looking for medical volunteers as cases increase.
“We have activated the Medical Reserve Corp in partnership with the state, seeking volunteer effort of individuals who may have served as nurses or doctors,” Bronin said.
Out of the 49 confirmed cases, nine are members of the Hartford Police Department and one is an employee of the Department of Public Works.
As local hospitals prepare for a surge in patients, Mayor Bronin said the city is now working to give first responders other housing options, minimizing risk to their families.
“We are working closely with the University of Hartford to finalize an agreement on the use of dormitory space to provide housing for our first responders, for those first responders who choose not to go back to their homes due to concerns about exposure to their families,” Bronin said.
Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez discussed the district’s first day of distance learning -sharing nearly sixty percent of students are not accessing online learning tools.
”In all honesty Hartford public schools have been late to the game or to the practice with regards to distance learning, the resources have not been there, the infrastructure has not been there, we know that they’re families that don’t have access to technology and we will continue to move whatever mountain we have to move to make sure that our students have the access,” Torres-Rodriguez said.
She said the district is creating a 10-week distance learning plan that would take students until the end of June and is also considering the fact in-class learning may not be able to resume come fall.
“We are being very mindful of how can we sustain these processes and protocols beyond the crises that we have in front of us,” she said.
The mayor also discussed new efforts to reduce crowding in homeless shelters, stating the city has moved nearly 75 people from shelters to hotels and all shelters now have an isolation space.
“We’re not only focused on the amount of space between each bed but also the number of people in any one room or floor of the facility,” Bronin said.
The city’s warming center at Milner School along Vine Street was scheduled to close this week but will remain open as a 24-hour shelter.