State’s death toll tops 3,000.

Gov. Ned Lamont reported Monday that more than 3,000 state residents have now died from coronavirus-related illnesses.

Between Sunday and Monday, another 41 people died, bringing the total to 3,008.

The number of people hospitalized in the state due to COVID-19, caused by the virus, decreased by 30 to 1,212. It was the 18th time in 19 days that hospitalizations have decreased. Another 211 people tested positive for the virus, bringing that total to 33,765.

In New London County, the number of positive tests increased by 2 to 784 while two more people died, bringing that total to 56. A total of 26 people are hospitalized for the virus, one less than Sunday.

Lamont also announced that the state has received 1,200 doses of the drug remdesivir, which has been shown to be effective in patients who have severe symptoms due to the virus. The state Department of Public Health distributed the first allotment to acute care hospitals across the state.

The Lamont administration said it is working with the state’s congressional delegation and the Connecticut Hospital Association to secure more doses. Gilead Sciences, the manufacturer of remdesivir, has said it will supply approximately 607,000 vials of drugs over the next six weeks across the United States.

Also on Monday, Lamont signed his 39th executive order since the pandemic began.

The order modified the petitioning

process for the August primary by reducing by 30 percent the number of signatures required, extends the deadline for submission of petitions by two days and permits an individual to sign and send a candidate a petition containing only that individual’s signature.

In other coronavirus developments:

Children at risk

Three children in the Yale Health system are being monitored for an inflammatory syndrome that has been linked to the coronavirus, Lamont said.

Lamont had few details on the cases, which he said were reported to him by Dr. Albert Ko, an epidemiologist at Yale and a member of the governor’s reopening advisory task.

“I think they are doing OK,” Lamont said.

Several deaths in New York have been linked to the possible complication, which involves swollen blood vessels and heart problems.

The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

Summer camps

Beth Bye, the commissioner of the state Office of Early Childhood, said Monday that summer camps could open on June 29 with strict public health guidelines in place. The governor’s office later clarified that would not include overnight camps.

Camps will be limited of 30 campers per program; campers would be required to have temperature checks before entering; and all camps would need to abide by strict cleaning guidelines, Bye said during a roundtable discussion of the states Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group that focused on education.

Larger camps that can demonstrate they have the space for more children can apply for a waiver from her office, Bye said.

Parents working on the front lines during the pandemic can receive a subsidy to cover up to three weeks of camp or other child care.

Reopening schools

The reopening advisory group’s education subcommittee said it is discussing what’s needed to get children back in the classroom this fall.

It is expected to include smaller class sizes, fewer students on school buses, and the continuation of online learning for at-risk students, teachers and professors, member said.

The reopening likely will occur in phases and could look different in different parts of the state, officials said.

Some community college, vocational and other nonresidential programs, where students are spread out in work shops and laboratories, could

be ready to accept students as early as next month, former Yale President Richard Levin said.

But Dr. Matthew Cartter, the state epidemiologist, cautioned the group that a second wave of the virus is possible in the fall and that plans need to be flexible.

Gun rights lawsuit

Gun rights supporters sued Lamont and several police chiefs over the coronavirus-related suspension of fingerprinting services needed to obtain gun and ammunition permits.

The Connecticut Citizens Defense League filed the lawsuit Saturday in U.S. District Court, saying a March 17 executive order issued by the Democratic governor violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. 59 16 8 3 3 27 8 139

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Lamont’s order, as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, suspended the state law that prohibits state police and local police officials from refusing to collect fingerprints. That effectively shut down the issuance of permits for firearms, the gun rights group said.

“Law enforcement throughout the state are refusing to collect fingerprints for firearms permit purposes, and are refusing to process firearms applications, even while fingerprinting and application processing continues for other purposes,” the defense league said in a statement Monday.

State Attorney General William Tong said that the lawsuit has no merit and that his office will defend the governor’s order.

“Our state constitution and state laws grant the governor broad authority to protect Connecticut residents and families in a public health emergency, and his executive orders have been very clearly constitutional and fully legally justified,” Tong said in a statement.

Suspending the fingerprinting law was an attempt to keep state police employees safe, said Brian Foley, an aide to Public Safety Commissioner James Rovella.

Worries about the pandemic have sparked a surge in gun buying across the country. FBI data show there were 3.7 million background checks to purchase firearms conducted in March, which smashed previous records, and a slight leveling to 2.9 million checks last month.

Long lines have been seen outside gun stores across the U.S. Unlike some other governors, Lamont has allowed gun stores to remain open, but they can conduct business by appointment only in order to limit personal contact. Several states are being sued over ordering gun stores to close during the pandemic.

Additional reporting by Dave Collins and Pat Eaton-Robb of the Associated Press.