pandemic challenges

A spokesperson for Bristol Hospital said they’re eliminating over 30 positions due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bristol Health said 10 of those roles were presently filled, the majority of which were management. Because of environmental and financial pressures such as labor and supply cost inflation, the healthcare system decided to cut back. “Health systems will be…

After a deadly domestic violence incident in Waterbury on Tuesday, organizations are urging people to reach out for help.

As of February this year, Connecticut’s unemployment rate stands at 4.9%. That is more than a full point above the federal average. Quality child care continues to be a barrier when it comes to getting parents back into the workforce. The state was in need of 50,000 more daycare slots for infants and toddlers before the pandemic, according to a…

A statewide report on public school students in Connecticut during the pandemic has concluded that while graduation rates rose, other evidence showed evidence of learning loss. Those who learned in in-person settings during the 2020-21 school year lost the least ground academically, the Department of Education’s Condition of Education report concluded. That trend held true across all grades and...

“Mentally as athletes we’re able to overcome a lot, but sometimes it feels like too much,” Cochran-Siegle said Tuesday after winning silver in the Super-G event.

Through the Comcast RISE initiative, businesses nationwide, including many in Connecticut, have received support through free technology makeovers and media campaigns.

Ash Wednesday looks different this year. Churches across the world are making safety changes as they prepare to observe Ash Wednesday amidst the pandemic. Following guidance from the Vatican, priests in the Diocese of Norwich will be sprinkling ashes on top of heads instead of rubbing the ashes into foreheads. “Not touching anything, keeping some distance,” said Father Robert Washabaugh,…

Churches will make some socially distant safety changes for parishioners wishing to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday this year.

A traditional night out for Valentine’s Day may not be in the cards for many, as the pandemic persists nationwide. This holiday, local businesses in Connecticut are getting creative to maintain business and help people celebrate during the pandemic. S&P Oyster in Mystic is offering their Valentine’s Day menu for indoor dining, outdoor dining by a fire pit and...

Juanita Austin describes the last nine months as a “roller coaster.” Her performance art space, lounge and art gallery, Cultured Studios, was forced to close in the early months of the pandemic. By April, her team left their storefront on State Street permanently. “Making that decision was tough, but I knew that we would bounce back eventually,” said Austin, creative…

Experts are concerned about how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. “The pandemic conditions plus the winter season — a lot of people will find this is a very difficult next few months,” said Dr. Paul Desan. “It’s not your imagination.” Desan is director of the Winter Depression Research Clinic at Yale…

It has been two weeks since the Christmas holiday and public health leaders in Connecticut are starting to see the anticipated post-holiday spike in COVID-19 cases. “Here in the first week of January, we have seen an increased number of cases and our test positivity rate is going up as well,” Deidre Gifford, the state’s acting public health commissioner,...

Doctors across the state are preparing for a post-holiday spike in COVID-19 cases. “We are all bracing ourselves for what is going to happen after Christmas and after New Year’s,” said Dr. Virginia Bieluch, chief of infectious diseases at the Hospital of Central Connecticut. People who gathered with people outside of their household this Christmas are urged to get...

Connecticut families tried to make the holidays special this year amid the pandemic.

Health experts are encouraging and warning Connecticut residents to stay vigilant as they head into the holidays as COVID -19 continues to plague the state. “COVID-19 is very opportunistic virus and every time we give it an opportunity to spread it takes it,” said Charles Brown, director of health for the Central Connecticut Health District. He’s speaking out on...

Health experts are concerned there will be a spike in COVID-19 cases due to people ignoring social distancing practices during Christmas and the New Year.

The shipping industry is seeing an historic boom this holiday season. Already strained during the pandemic, an influx in holiday shipping and online ordering is overwhelming the system and sparking delays. According to ShipMatrix, a software company that tracks millions of packages, the shipping industry is handling about 80 million packages a day. They estimate about 2-3 million are delayed….

Mondays are typically days off for folks who work in the restaurant industry, but this Monday, owners, employees, servers and chefs say they don’t have time to waste as they rallied at the governor’s residence. They said they’re fighting to keep their industry alive. From Thomaston to New Haven, Litchfield to Avon to Danbury, industry employees, those currently out...

This season, folks are looking for an extra bit of magic and holiday cheer in their homes and it has skyrocketed the demands for real live Christmas trees.  Russell Trent, the owner of Mark’s Christmas Tree Farms, has a message for families going into the holiday season. “If you like a tree, get out here in the next week or...