HARTFORD, Conn. — Question:
Gina said she was a little taken aback by this one. She wrote, “There is a family dentist in Glastonbury who ‘implemented a minimal $5.00 per patient per dental visit fee for PPE (personal protective equipment). This minimal fee helps cover the extra safety measures required in the prevention of spreading the COVID-19 virus.’ Is this legal to do? Turn the cost of the need for PPE to the patient?”
Answer:
The short answer is yes; it is legal for a dental office to pass along a charge to its customers to cover the cost of PPE. The State of Connecticut is not mandating how businesses cover the cost of PPE, but it has said that each business is responsible for providing its own PPE. If a business, like a dental office or a salon, which was reported to FOX61 before, wants to charge customers for it, that is the business’ decision.
Question:
Christine wrote, “When will the Social Security offices in CT reopen once again? It is very difficult to deal with them by phone, especially when applying for the first time via the website. Are they in the “phase CT”?
Answer:
FOX61 checked in with Steve Richardson from the Social Security Administration, and right now, we still don’t have a date when the offices will be open for in-person services. The Social Security Administration is still asking for people to take advantage of services online and by phone. Richardson wrote to us, “All Social Security facilities remain restricted to very limited, authorized personnel performing non-portable, mission critical work.” The offices are federally run, so it wouldn’t be up to the State to reopen them. You can find more information: www.socialsecurity.gov/coronavirus/
Question:
Renee asked, “When will the Connecticut correctional institutions resume public visiting hours?”
Answer:
FOX61 reached out to the CT Department of Correction. It said, “We will review visitation protocols once we have completed mass testing. We are about halfway through the facilities.” So there’s no date just yet on when visiting hours will resume.