Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs down to a rise in hospitalizations, albeit small, near the end of the first week of the first phase of Connecticut’s reopening. Hospitalizations have been a key metric as the state looks to get back to business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the numbers had been favorable leading into the reopening of restaurants for outdoor dining, along with other changes. But weekend numbers saw a slight increase, indicating the state is not out of the woods yet.

Thumbs up to high usage rates at Connecticut’s parks and trails, with the caveat that people must continue to practice social distancing and be practical around others. The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in Hamden saw nearly three times as many visitors this March compared to 2019, according to the UConn Connecticut Trail Census, and many other trails have reported similar numbers. Usage rates are so high that some parks have been closed when they reach capacity. But it’s understandable why so many people are out at a time when they are being told to stay in whenever possible.

Thumbs down to nursing homes cited for poor infection-control practices during the pandemic. While there are a lot of factors contributing to the high rate of deaths related to coronavirus at nursing homes, it is unsettling that some of them declined to separate COVID-19-positive residents from others, improperly or failed to use protective equipment and failed fundamentals such as proper hygiene. We admire the work of staffs at nursing homes, but such watchdogs must remain vigilant to reinforce best practices.

Thumbs up to an extra 13 weeks of jobless benefits, which more than 75,000 Connecticut residents can apply for beginning this week under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Under typical regulations, unemployment benefits are capped at 26 weeks; the new law pushes that window to 39 weeks. But given the grim unemployment numbers and the reaction to Phase 1 of the state’s coronavirus reopening, more is likely to be necessary.

Thumbs up to a few of our own. Of the many awards collected by Hearst Connecticut Media in the annual Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists contest, two deserve another round of applause. Emilie Munson and Kaitlyn Krasselt collected the Theodore Driscoll Award for Investigative Reporting for “Harassed at Work,” a series that exposed workplace harassment in the state, while Tara O’Neill picked up the First Amendment Award for her work covering a protest surrounding a police shooting that resulted in her arrest by Bridgeport police. The awards, two of the top three presented last week, invite entries from all media in Connecticut.