STATE OPENS DMV OFFICES — PARTIALLY, BY APPOINTMENT

Seven new confirmed COVID-19 cases in New London County

After a three-month shutdown for in-person transactions, the state Department of Motor Vehicles offices have partially reopened — by appointment only.

Gov. Ned Lamont and Commissioner Sibongile Magubane were at the Waterbury DMV office to announce the reopening on Tuesday.

Testing for learner’s permits is being done at the Cheshire and Wethersfield locations on limited days and requires an appointment.

The shutdown for coronavirus tested the department’s ability to move transactions online, a longtime effort that had already gained speed.

The state delayed the renewal deadlines by 180 days for driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations expiring March 10 to June 30, and by 90 days for those documents expiring in July. But others, such as tests for new drivers and some tax transactions, have been slowed.

The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday partially reopened four of its branches to begin offering in-person licensing and new vehicle registration services by appointment only, the latest in a series of steps toward resuming operations at one of the state’s busiest agencies.

Road testing also resumed Tuesday, in partnership with private driving schools, to reduce a backlog of approximately 1,000 road tests that developed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve now been rescheduled through June 30.

“Who would have thought everybody was missing DMV so much,” joked Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, as he stood outside the Waterbury branch where DMV customers with prescheduled appointments waited in their cars until being notified electronically to come inside the building. Branches in Bridgeport, Enfield and New Britain also partially reopened Tuesday for new registration and license services.

New registration services will begin June 30 at the Wethersfield, Willimantic, and Danbury branches. All in-person services now require an appointment, which can be made online.

Meanwhile, additional locations reopened Tuesday for learner’s permit knowledge tests. Offices in Wethersfield and Cheshire previously opened May 11 as part of a pilot program. Now, the tests will be offered at offices in Willimantic, Old Saybrook, Norwalk, and Danbury by appointment only.

DMV Commissioner Sibongile “Bongi” Magubane praised DMV staff for their efforts to slowly reopen in a safe way, noting “this journey has not been easy.” She said the agency should be able to start handling more and more walk-in traffic at various branches over the next couple weeks.

“But we needed to start slow because we understand how this pandemic is,” she said. “So we’ve learned a lot in the last three months and we are extremely excited to be in this point.”

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death.

The state reported Tuesday that it has had 45,899 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases overall, an increase of 117 from Monday. There have been 4,277 overall confirmed and probable deaths associated with the disease in the state, up by 14 from Monday, although hospitalizations declined by two to 138 in that 24 hours. The state said 6,396 more coronavirus tests have been completed as of Tuesday, bringing the overall total to 401,986.

New London County saw seven new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 1,159, according to state data released Tuesday. The number of probable cases remains at 62.

Three people in the county are hospitalized due to COVID-19, the same number reported on Monday, according to the data. Lawrence + Memorial Hospital reported one COVID-19 patient Tuesday. Westerly Hospital reported none.

The state data shows 76 COVID-19 deaths and 26 probable COVID-19 deaths, for a total of 102 deaths in the county. That is an increase of one probable COVID-19 death from Monday.

In other coronavirus news in Connecticut:

UConn cuts

The University of Connecticut will be cutting nonunion managers’ pay through furloughs and canceling their merit raises as the school grapples with a deficit of more than $50 million in the next academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

UConn President Thomas Katsouleas wrote in a recent letter to managers that most nonunion managers will be furloughed for the equivalent of one day a month in the new fiscal year that begins July 1. That would result in a pay reduction of just under 5% for the year.

Katsouleas said he and other senior managers with the highest pay will take the equivalent of two furlough days a month, equaling about a 10% pay cut.