Report by Paula Antolini, March 22, 2020, 7:54PM EDT
Governor Asks Residents to Sign Up for Statewide Alerts to Keep Connecticut Residents Safe During COVID-19 Emergency
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today delivered a recorded voice message to more than four million phone numbers in Connecticut through the state’s CTAlert system in an effort to urge all residents to “Stay Safe, Stay Home” as the state continues to face the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The recording will be sent from the Emergency Operations Center in Hartford this afternoon and will be accompanied by a text message to mobile phones containing a link to the state’s coronavirus website, ct.gov/coronavirus.
Governor Lamont is the first governor in Connecticut history to utilize the CTAlert system for a statewide phone call. Residents can sign up for the CTAlert system at www.ctalert.gov.
“The CTAlert system is a vital tool to keep our residents informed, especially during a public health emergency,” Governor Lamont said. “Providing accurate information to our residents during these kind of events is important, and the CTAlert system is how we do that.”
The CTAlert system has been supporting Connecticut residents since 2009 and provides direct alert voice calls, SMS messages, and emails to more than 4.3 million connection points across email addresses and phone numbers. The system supports emergency communication efforts of multiple agencies including the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and the Division of Statewide Emergency Telecommunications. Municipalities also utilize the alert system for local emergency updates.
“We are currently living through an emergency that we have never seen before, and making sure our residents receive direct communication from their governor is important,” Governor Lamont said.
Transcript of Governor Lamont’s phone call:
This is Governor Ned Lamont. I’m calling to urge you personally: Stay safe, stay home. I’m not ordering you to stay home, I’m strongly urging you to stay home to make sure that you and your neighbors are much less likely to be infected by the highly contagious COVID-19 virus.
If you must head out to the grocery store, or pharmacy, pick up takeout from your favorite restaurant, that’s fine. I’ll be taking a long walk with Annie to get some fresh air, but remember to keep your distance from passers by.
Seventy years or older? Stay home.
And for those of you who can work from home, that’s best but check with your boss, first.
For the latest updates, follow me on Twitter or Facebook.
We will get through this crisis by working together.
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