Health care law signed; town resists its state’s COVID-19 regulations

A look at coronavirus-related developments around New England:

CONNECTICUT

Some public school students in New Haven will return to their physical classrooms later this month for the first time since last spring, the superintendent of schools announced.

Superintendent Iline Tracey said on the district website Thursday that officials are preparing for “a limited return of students to a hybrid learning model” starting Jan. 19.

The New Haven district has been largely closed for in-person instruction since last March.

Tracey said schools will open on Jan. 19 to students in prekindergarten through fifth grade as well as students in special-education programs and programs for new immigrants.

But two schools – Quinnipiac School and West Rock School – will remain closed because city health officials determined that a lack of ventilation renders them unsafe during the pandemic, Tracey said.

MAINE

The state Center for Disease Control and Prevention has placed an order for 17,075

vaccine doses with federal authorities, Maine health officials said Thursday.

The order is expected to arrive early next week and is the fifth in a series of vaccine requests that state officials will file in the coming weeks, officials said.

Combined with prior orders, Maine expects to have enough doses to vaccinate about 81,850 people in the first four weeks of distribution, officials said.

The Maine CDC also reported four additional deaths and 700 cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The agency said 188 people are currently hospitalized with the virus.

The state has reported 351 deaths and nearly 25,000 positive cases of the virus since the pandemic started.

Maine’s average positivity rate has risen from 5.5% on Dec. 17 to nearly 7% on Dec. 31, according to Johns Hopkins data. The state is also averaging about 425 new cases a day.

MASSACHUSETTS

Gov. Charlie Baker signed a wide-ranging health care bill

Friday that he says will codify in law many of the emergency changes made to the state system in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Republican said the new law extends requirements for all insurance carriers in Massachusetts to cover COVID-19 testing and treatment. It also increases insurance coverage for telehealth services, which have become vital during the pandemic.

Baker’s office said the law also expands the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, other specialized nurses and optometrists, takes steps to protect consumers from surprise medical bills, and calls for a study on the effects of COVID-19 on the health care system, among other steps.

“This legislation applies lessons learned during the pandemic to make long-lasting changes in the way people access health care services,” said House Speaker Ronald Mariano, a Quincy Democrat.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Gov. Chris Sununu has issued an executive order authorizing certain military service members and emergency medical technicians to temporarily work as licensed nursing assistants during the

coronavirus pandemic.

Sununu, who issued the order Wednesday, said it “provides yet another tool to ensure that health care providers across the Granite State are able to maintain workforce and continue to provide quality care as we distribute the COVID-19 vaccines.”

The order followed one he issued Dec. 10 that authorizes certain nursing students to obtain a temporary license.

RHODE ISLAND

The annual New Year’s Day polar plunge in Newport went virtual this year because of the pandemic.

“A Wish Come True” says it won’t host the benefit plunge at Easton’s Beach for the 17th year, but is instead asking people to dump a bucket of ice water on themselves and share the video on social media with the hashtag “#AWCTPolarPlunge.”

The organization is also encouraging participants to challenge family and friends to participate and raise funds for the organization, which grants wishes for children facing life-threatening illnesses in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.

The benefit drive, inspired by the ALS Ice Bucket Chal

lenge, runs through the month of January.

Last year, 5,000 people took the plunge in Newport and raised $27,000 for the organization.

VERMONT

A Vermont town has voted to overturn in its community Gov. Phil Scott’s emergency orders issued with the intention of protecting the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The select board in Stamford, a town of about 800 people along the Massachusetts border, voted 3-2 on Tuesday to “terminate” the governor’s restrictions.

Select board member Daniel Potvin said that quarantine requirements, restrictions on large family or public gatherings, and face mask requirements violate the state’s constitution because they were imposed without normal due process of law.

But in a letter to town officials, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Phillips said Vermont law does not give the town authority to terminate the state of emergency.

The letter did not say what the state would do should the town continue to maintain it can terminate the order.