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Ned Lamont at Thursday’s daily coronavirus presser.
Nine Democratic state senators, including New Haven’s Gary Winfield, have called on the governor to push back the state’s May 20 partial reopening date because of concerns around inadequate testing and contact tracing in the state as well as the persistence of new Covid-19 infections.
The state senators sent that email to Gov. Ned Lamont Thursday morning in regards to his administration’s planned Phase 1 reopening of the certain sections of the state’s economy on May 20.
“We are writing to urge you to delay your plans to phase out Connecticut’s COVID-19 restrictions starting May 20,” they wrote.
“While Connecticut is moving in the right direction in terms of testing capacity, hospitalizations and deaths, the number of new positive tests, while down from the peak, indicates that community transmission of COVID-19 is still occurring in Connecticut at levels far beyond our ability to track, trace and isolate potential contacts.”
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State Sen. Gary Winfield.
The letter was signed by Winfield and fellow State Sens. Matt Lesser, Alex Kasser, Julie Kushner, Mary Daugherty Abrams, Mae Flexer, Saud Anwar, Christine Cohen, and Joan Hartley.
The senators pointed out that, when Lamont issued an executive order on March 19 that closed barbershops and hair salons statewide, Connecticut reported 63 new positive Covid-19 cases.
On Wednesday, they noted, the state reported 522 new cases.
They argued that the state “has still not implemented widescale testing of essential workers, let alone of the population as a whole, nor do we have a statewide track and trace system in place or universal testing of our most vulnerable populations in congregate settings.
“We are all anxious to reopen Connecticut’s economy and we generally agree with the metrics you laid out in your Reopen CT plan, metrics that have yet to be achieved. While this is first and foremost a public health crisis, we are well aware of the economic impact on families and businesses and the state as a whole. Reopening is essential – but to do it while the first wave of the pandemic is still raging will not lead to a second wave, it will simply add fuel to the first wave, delaying our eventual recovery.”
They praised Lamont for his “strong and thoughtful leadership” during the crisis, and pledged that they are ready to work with him in the weeks and months ahead.
Lamont responded to senators’ criticism during his daily coronavirus-related press briefing by arguing that the state has “far exceeded what we planned to do” in terms of testing to date, and that the state has significantly ramped up its contact tracing efforts in recent weeks.
“Can we always do more? Yeah. I appreciate the ongoing concern that people have. But I think we’ve got the right balance going forward right now.”
He said that the guidelines put together for the Phase 1 reopening are informed by and responsive to the science and data around the virus. He said his administration has “put public health and public safety first and foremost” in its response to the outbreak.
He also said that he received a letter from 130 restaurants criticizing him for opening the economy too slowly at around the same time that he received the state senators’ letter arguing that he was going too fast.
“We’re trying to get a balance going forward to keep you safe, first and foremost,” he said.
The senators’ letter came just a few days after a group of 11 Democratic state senators, including New Haven’s Martin Looney, sent another letter to the governor, with over a dozen questions about the criteria and pace of the Reopen CT strategy.