Lamont Extends Coronavirus Executive Orders To February

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont this week extended all his coronavirus executive orders to Feb. 9 as the state deals with its second wave of the virus.

The move will line up his executive order expiration dates with the expiration date of his public health and civil preparedness emergencies. The order is the 80th he’s signed in relation to the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure also extends state agency and municipal orders that haven’t already expired until Feb. 9, unless they were modified or terminated. It doesn’t apply to parts of executive orders that have expiration dates, such as the eviction moratorium that is set to expire Jan. 1.

The governor previously extended the executive orders from September to Monday.

Coronavirus infections and hospitalizations have spiked since September. Hospitalizations have increased 10-fold between Sept. 8, when Lamont last extended the orders, and now.

Much of Connecticut’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, including reopening phases, have come in the form of executive orders. State law gives the governor wide latitude to act during a public health or civil preparedness emergency.

His most recent high-profile executive order was to move the state to phase 2.1 on Friday. The move reduced restaurant capacity to 50 percent and ordered restaurants to stop serving at 9:30 p.m.

Lamont renewed his public health and civil preparedness emergency declarations Sept. 1 after first issuing them March 10. They were originally due to expire on Sept. 9. A committee of leading legislators voted 6 to 4 denying a motion from Republican legislators to nullify Lamont’s extension of powers.