Connecticut governor: No restrictions lifted before May 20th

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said Tuesday that he would not ease restrictions on social distancing until at least May 20, as his state continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re just getting started and I don’t feel comfortable yet at all,” Lamont told CNN’s John Berman on “New Day,” referring to the state’s testing capacity.

“We have a long way to go,” he continued.

“We’re just getting started and I don’t feel comfortable yet at all,” Connecticut @GovNedLamont says about when the state would be ready to relax stay-at-home orders and reopen the economy.https://t.co/2LK8tCsqFL pic.twitter.com/z0vSwMalne

— New Day (@NewDay) April 14, 2020

Lamont also said Connecticut is now testing between 2,000 and 3,000 people a day, but that the antibody testing — used to determine whether someone contracted the virus without showing symptoms — is still in preliminary rounds of use. The governor added that the virus was still spreading in many parts of the state, though the number of hospitalizations had stopped growing exponentially.

When asked about President Trump’s comments Monday night about having control over when states reopen their economies, Lamont said the remarks send a mixed message to the public, describing the president’s words as “verbal hand grenades.” 

“I’m trying to maintain the social distance,” Lamont said. “I don’t need the White House saying, ‘hey, everybody, it’s all going to be fine, go to church on Sunday and keep going’ … This is no time to take our eye off the ball. That would be dangerous.”

“I’m trying to maintain the social distance,” says Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. “I don’t need the White House saying, ‘hey, everybody, it’s all going to be fine, go to church on Sunday and keep going’… This is no time to take our eye off the ball. That would be dangerous.” pic.twitter.com/Tgpxcqw1Ll

— New Day (@NewDay) April 14, 2020

Lamont noted that he is working in close collaboration with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to come up with the best strategy to combat the pandemic in the tri-state area.