Connecticut senator: ‘We have no concept’ of coronavirus scope

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday that officials have “no concept” of the scope of the coronavirus outbreak due to a lack of available tests. 

Two cases have been confirmed in Connecticut, but Murphy said CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he imagined his state has “hundreds if not thousands” of cases. 

“I think we have no concept of the scope of this epidemic yet because we have not been able to test,” Murphy said. “The fact of the matter is we can’t make good judgments about the measures we should be taking in Seattle or in Danbury or in Hartford unless we are able to do these tests.” 

#Coronavirus in Connecticut: “I imagine we have hundreds if not thousands of cases in my state,” @ChrisMurphyCT tells @margbrennan. Adds, “I think we have no concept of the scope of this epidemic because we have not been able to test” pic.twitter.com/2yO2Q4fu4s

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 8, 2020

Murphy called the Trump administration’s response to the virus “unforgivable,” saying it did not prepare and allocate resources early to make sure tests were available for everyone. 

Murphy also said President Trump’s comments Friday that tests are available to all who need them is not true. 

Murphy said Connecticut is doing “a lot more screenings,” but does not have the ability to give a test to everybody who “wants one.”