Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont on working with East Coast governors to re-open economy
Seven East Coast states extend stay-at-home orders until at least May 15.
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Connecticut is responding to the coronavirus pandemic and working to re-open the state's economy in conjunction with East Coast governors and the aid of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Governor Ned Lamont said Saturday
Appearing on "Cavuto LIVE" with host Neil Cavuto, Lamont, a Democrat said that the key indicator in the state's ability to open up is its hospitalization rate.
On Friday night the coronavirus death count in the Constitution State crossed 1,000 people.
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"I think...the key indicator for us is hospitalization. That gives you an idea of infections in the community and that, unfortunately, can be a precursor to fatalities as well," he explained. "But, hospitalizations are flattening out and that means we have [the] capacity in our hospitals and that means we can start thinking about how we get our businesses back in business."
In addition, Lamont also noted that the state was thinking about reopening in terms of testing, social distancing, and other things "in common" with governors in the East Coast coalition. The leaders have agreed to consider lifting some of the lockdown provisions or stagger them in the middle of May.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, right, speaks to the media as Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, left, looks on, during a visit to Protein Sciences, Thursday, March 12, 2020, in Meriden, Conn. The biotech company is currently researching a vaccine for COVID-19. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. (AP)
"We're thinking in terms of testing. We're thinking in terms of social distancing -- things that we have in common. We can learn from each other," he stated. "Look, we'll all work our own timetable, I think Neil, but it doesn't make any sense for me to open up restaurants if Andrew Cuomo keeps them closed. Because then we just have hundreds of people driving back and forth across the border. So, there [are] some things that we're going to try and do together."
This week Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order permitting the state's residents to partake in outdoor recreational activities and Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis gave the green light for beaches to reopen for limited hours.
This comes after President Trump told governors they would decide when to reopen their states.
"I think that the COVID Task Force and the guidelines were actually helpful coming out of the federal government," Lamont told Cavuto. "The other thing I'd add -- like Dr. Fauci said -- was in addition to more testing so we get a better indication of what's going on, face masks, just give us more of the PPE we need to keep people safe. If I have more face masks, that's not just for grocery store workers and for first responders, but maybe barbershops and nail salons, allow them to get back to work safely."
Cavuto also asked Lamont what he thought about Friday's "dust-up" between New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and President Trump.
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"Whatever you hear about the tweets, what people should remember is that Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, the Pence COVID Task Force out of the White House has a good strong constructive relationship with the governors," he replied.
"It took a while coming to tell you the truth but now it's working I think it's working pretty well and let the tweets take care of themselves. They are just a distraction to me," he concluded.