CT Senate Republicans Question DPH’s Guidance Against High School Football
September 8, 2020Lawmakers question what metrics & benchmarks need to be achieved to allow season to move forward.
HARTFORD – Today all 14 members of the Connecticut Senate Republican Caucus wrote to Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Deirdre Gifford to request more information on the department’s recommendation to cancel contact football this fall. The lawmakers are also questioning what public health metrics the agency believes our state needs to reach in order to be comfortable with a football season moving forward.
“Time and again we receive public health guidance from the administration with no explanation of what metrics they are using to make their decisions,” said Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven). “The Department owes it to our young athletes to not only provide a clear explanation of what led to their decision and what solutions can be explored, but they also need to be clear about what public health benchmarks Connecticut needs to reach for the agency to be comfortable with football restarting. DPH has been asked this by others and they failed to respond. What are they hiding and why are they ignoring these requests?”
Fasano added, “The Department of Public Health’s guidance on full contact football is just the latest example of the governor’s administration issuing a directive without giving the public any clear metrics or benchmarks. For example, we have reached the goals the administration said we needed to reach to move to phase three of reopening our economy, yet we remain stuck in phase two. We see more information every day that makes it clear the most vulnerable need the most protection, yet the Governor is halting providing PPE for home health aides that work directly with elderly and at-risk individuals. The governor and his agencies continue to wield complete power and keep the public in the dark about what numbers are actually going in to their decision-making process, and what benchmarks need to be reached to move forward or continue with additional protections.”
In the caucus letter, the 14 Senate Republican lawmakers are:
- Requesting more information about what went into the department’s decision;
- Questioning what other risks to youth associated with health, wellness and safety and the lack of school activities were weighed and how balance was achieved;
- Seeking a clear explanation of what benchmarks need to be reached for the agency to be comfortable with students playing football.
Caucus Letter:
September 8, 2020
Dr. Deirdre Gifford
Acting Commissioner
Department of Public Health 410 Capitol Ave. Hartford CT 06134
Dear Dr. Gifford:
We are writing to more fully understand the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) opposition to full-contact football this fall and obtain more information on your decision-making process and the metrics that you believe need to be achieved in order to allow football to be played.
First, obviously your decision to recommend against playing football certainly is the safest decision and provides for zero risk. However, it seems that there should be more required of DPH to assess and weigh the risks and provide a more detailed analysis and recommended solutions. Anyone without medical knowledge could make the safest decision possible and recommend not doing something entirely. But DPH must be held to a higher standard as we navigate through uncharted territory.
Second, there must be specific metrics and rationale that went into the guidance you communicated that led to the recommendation to cancel contact football for the upcoming season. The infection rate in Connecticut has held at 1% or lower over the last several weeks, hospitalizations have been around 60 to 65 people out of 3.5 million residents, and daily deaths have either been well under 10 and some days no deaths have been reported. These improving numbers beg the question what are the metrics in which football could be played? A 0% infection rate is likely never a possibility until a vaccine is available and equally true waiting until there are zero hospitalizations is not realistic. Infection rates are currently at 0.8%. So what rate between 0% and 0.8% do we as a state need to reach for you to consider Connecticut safe enough for football? As the health agency for the state surely you have examined those numbers and you now have an affirmative obligation to disclose those numbers to the parents, children, coaches and the public.
Third, we hope that in developing those metrics you have taken into account the physiological and other health risks that school children are facing during this pandemic. It has been well documented that depression, drug abuse, family violence as well as other adverse health issues have been increasing and are serious issues facing many of our young residents. We expect that your analysis included these concerns, and we would appreciate an explanation, from your point of view, how balance was achieved in your decision-making process when weighing these issues and risks. Please provide such rational.
Fourth, we understand that the Department of Public Health advised the CIAC to make modifications to its policies to enable a football season to move forward, and the CIAC has stated that there is no way to meet the requirements issued by DPH. Please provide us with all guidance that was provided, what was requested of the CIAC, and what could not be met.
And finally, we understand that Representative Vincent Candelora sent you a letter on this issue some time ago and he never received a response. Given the fact that your analysis has already been completed we expect that you can answer all questions presented in his letter. We also share many of those questions and ask that you please provide such answers no later than Thursday, September 10 at noon.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano
Senate Republican Leader Pro Tempore Kevin Witkos
Senator Eric Berthel
Senator Gennaro Bizzarro
Senator Dan Champagne
Senator Paul Formica
Senator Kevin Kelly
Senator John A. Kissel
Senator Tony Hwang
Senator George Logan
Senator Henri Martin
Senator Craig Miner
Senator Rob Sampson
Senator Heather Somers
