Lamont Says He May Consult With Nearby Governors About Shutdown

CONNECTICUT — With the coronavirus infection rate climbing and a vaccine still months from widespread availability, Gov. Ned Lamont said he wants to consult with neighboring governors about a potential statewide shutdown.

"Let's see closer to Christmas what things look like," Lamont said as he fielded questions on a radio show hosted by Renee DiNino on Hartford's WHCN on Tuesday. "Let me talk to my fellow governors because it probably doesn't work as well if just Connecticut did something like that.

"Look, that's a pretty slow time. Kids already are not in school, you're probably not doing as much shopping and dining, so that is a possibility."

During a news conference Wednesday, Lamont said he had a "really constructive conversation" with a group of doctors at Yale New Haven Medical Center who are calling for a state lockdown.

"They impressed upon me the urgency of what is going on in the ICUs in the hospitals," the governor said.

Many elective surgeries were placed on hold in April and May to free up resources for COVID-19 patients, Lamont said, and health care facilities no longer have the flexibility to postpone many of those procedures.

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Lamont said he had hopes that a "virtuous cycle" of events, triggered by vaccine distribution, would shortly begin to free up health care resources.

The governor said that the state government was doing all it could in terms of loans and short-term funding to help businesses impacted by the pandemic, but there were limits.

"If we bailed out everyone who was looking for a bailout, Connecticut would need a bailout," Lamont said, adding the state was providing businesses "a bridge to when the federal government steps up."

On Tuesday, Lamont was petitioned by the Connecticut Restaurant Association to not set further restrictions on its industry, which it said was "on the verge of collapse."

The governor said he is particularly sympathetic to the plight of the state's restaurateurs: "I talk to people who work at restaurants. I know how much money and effort they put in to doing everything they can to keep a restaurant safe. And you think about them when you make a decision on restaurants."

Lamont said the state was in the process of distributing $50 million to landlords to prevent evictions.

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Vaccine Logistics

The governor envisioned that once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes widely available, it will be distributed in his state at drive-thru facilities, much as testing is administered today. That widespread availability won't be in place until the first or second quarter of 2021, after first responders, the elderly and the most vulnerable residents are vaccinated.

Money from the state's rainy day fund, if tapped, would be prioritized for public health, specifically targeting the costs associated with the rollout and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, Lamont said.

"Obviously the Feds aren't getting their act together," Lamont said, explaining why the state was assembling and planning to pay for the infrastructure to distribute the vaccines to residents. The governor said he hoped the federal government would step up and fund the costs of distribution, as it has the cost of the vaccine itself and its necessary refrigerated storage.

"We're getting through this," Lamont said. "The vaccines are coming soon. The therapies are there. We are beginning to maybe bend the curve on the infection rate. Hang with us a little bit longer, it's going to be a good spring."