An executive order Gov. Ned Lamont issued requires all Connecticut state employees, childcare staff and staff of PreK-12 schools statewide to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and for people who are exempt to be tested on a weekly basis.
State officials said state employees now have through the end of the day on Monday, October 4 to be in compliance.
Roughly 32,000 state employees work for executive branch agencies.
At last check, about 19,000 employees in the executive branch are fully vaccinated, which makes up about 60 percent. Another 10 percent have reported that they're in compliance with weekly testing and the state is still following up with the remaining 30 percent, according to Josh Geballe, the Chief Operating Officer for Governor Ned Lamont.
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According to early information, around 10,000 of the 32,000 are non-compliant with vaccination or testing.
Officials said they believe there will be a big surge at the last minute and while there will still be employees who are non-compliant at the end of the day Monday, they believe that number will be relatively small.
One of those executive orders that was extended is the one that requires long-term care facility workers, state hospital workers, state employees pre-k through 12 school workers and staff at childcare facilities to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or test weekly. It went into effect this past Monday.
Those who do not get vaccinated due to certain exemptions are required to test for COVID-19 on a weekly basis.
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Anyone who chooses not to be in compliance by the end of the day on Monday could face being put on unpaid leave, Geballe said.
Those employees could be put on unpaid leave as early as Tuesday, October 5, but no later than Monday, October 11, as last minute paperwork comes in, he added.
There are currently over 300 testing sites in the state and by the end of this week, there will be 23 state sponsored testing sites, according to officials. Anyone looking for a test can call 211 or go to 211's website to find out where they can test.
