Democratic State Senators: Lamont Should Delay Reopening

CONNECTICUT — Nine state Democratic senators are asking Gov. Ned Lamont to push back the state's reopening from its scheduled May 20 date.

Below is the full letter:

We are writing to urge you to delay your plans to phase out Connecticut's COVID-19 restrictions starting May 20.

On March 19, the day you ordered the closure of barbershops and hairsalons, Connecticut reported 63 new positive cases of COVID-19.

Yesterday, Connecticut reported 522 new cases.

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.

Some areas of the state outside Fairfield County are still seeing increases.

Moreover, Connecticut 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.

We are grateful for your strong and thoughtful leadership during one of the most difficult periods of our state's history – and ready to work with you to protect our state and its residents during the weeks and months ahead.

Sincerely,

Senator Matt Lesser

Senator Alex Kasser

Senator Julie Kushner

Senator Mary Daugherty Abrams

Senator Mae Flexer

Senator Gary Winfield

Senator Saud Anwar

Senator Christine Cohen

Senator Joan Hartley