Governor Ned Lamont, along with Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, spoke about the state's decision to keep classrooms closed in Connecticut for the remainder of the academic school year and to continue distance learning during Tuesday’s briefing.
Governor Lamont said, "It breaks my heart. We were pretty early in terms of social distancing and protocols put into place. I wanted to do everything I could to keep the school year at least partially open for a few weeks - some sense of conclusion for our students," Governor Lamont said. "But, Miguel has been informed by superintendents and parents and teachers across the board. We see a continuing increase in infections in many regions of the state, and this was no time to take that risk. So, sadly, in terms of traditional classroom education, that will not continue this school year."
"I ran for governor. I wanted to be the education governor. I thought this was the most important thing we could do. I thought the quality of our K-12, the quality of our colleges, the amazing workforce we had positioned us for the 21st century, and that was going to be my priority. And now I'm the guy that has to say we're not going to continue the school year in this cycle," Governor Lamont added.
Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona described how difficult it was to cancel classroom learning, but said the decision was based on the health and safety of students and staff.
"As one former student put it, it's not surprising but it is devastating," Commissioner Cardona said.
Governor Lamont said applauded the state’s teachers for their efforts and said tens of thousands of reading materials are being distributed to schools across the state to make sure children continue to learn at home.
"We're streaming Scholastic content right now. Our teachers are amazing. They're stepping up. They're doing telephone classes. They're doing zoom classes, online classes," Governor Lamont said. "I think we've been pleasantly surprised… Most kids are taking to this. A guy my age - it's not the way I'm used to - but these kids are."
Governor Lamont said 60,000 computers, which will be distributed to students, are expected to be delivered soon.
"They are going to start being delivered I think in the next couple of weeks…it's going to be phased in over a period of time," Governor Lamont said. "It's going to be integral to our online learning. My hunch is - going forward - you're going to see a lot more online learning to complement what's going on in the classroom."
RELATED: Gov. Lamont announces decision to close CT public schools for the rest of the academic year
According to Commissioner Cardona, the Connecticut Education Committee on the Reopen Advisory Board is hoping to be able to provide summer school options in July.
"We are actively planning what a safe re-entry would look like and are eager to open up our buildings once again," Commissioner Cardona said. "Schools serve as communities of growth for our students. Not only academically, but socially and emotionally. We look forward to welcoming you back in a safe way."
Commissioner Cardona added he is still working with district leaders to honor high school senior's accomplishments with graduation ceremonies.
"You worked hard and deserve all the praise you are going to get," Commissioner Cardona said.
Governor Lamont said officials are still looking to see if outdoor graduations are possible with proper distancing, but a decision on that would be made at a later time.
Officials did announce summer camps would be allowed to open on June 29th with proper protocols in place.
"This has been a challenging time for families across Connecticut, and we're hoping for some return to normalcy for children and families knowing that summer camps can open for their children," said Commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood Beth Bye.
Commissioner Bye said working with the Reopen Advisory Group, they developed guidelines to assure added protective measures to reduce the likelihood of exposure to the virus for children and families.
According to Commissioner Bye, guidance developed so far is on the department's website.
Commissioner Bye said additional guidance would be released on May 15th.
"Right now, camps are making decisions on whether to open or not and that's up to them…and families are also making those decisions," Commissioner Bye said. "Know that the governor has announced today that camps will not have to close, but they will need to live with some very specific health guidance."
State officials released new numbers on COVID-19 in the state on Tuesday.
The total number of positive cases stood at 30,621, which was an increase of 448. Deaths associated with COVID-19 also increased by 77, bringing the total to 2,633. After 12 days on the decline, hospitalizations went up by 35 for a total of 1,500.
A 14-day decline has been called an "important metric," for reopening the state's economy. According to Josh Geballe, the Chief Operating Officer for the Governor's Office, the "concept is a rolling average."
"As the hospitalizations continue to decline, eventually they'll flatten out. They're not going to go to zero. So the concept was 14-days of continuous decline, but looking at a rolling average. Today is just one data point, but we're going to continue watching it very carefully in the coming days."
Geballe also addressed the frustration many are feeling while trying to get in contact with the Department of Labor.
Responding to FOX61's Jenn Bernstein, Geballe said, "We definitely acknowledge it's been hard to get through on the phones at times. The team has been rapidly increasing the size of the call center staff there. I think it's quadrupled from where it was when this crisis began. They're working around the clock trying to get back to people. I will just point out that the team, through their hard work, has now processed over 400,000 unemployment claims and we're now just an inch short of $1 billion of unemployment compensation claims that's been paid out to the people of Connecticut. So the money is moving, but we do understand that some people have not been able to get through and how frustrating that is for folks and we're working around the clock to try to fix that."