A group of State Senate Democrats has written a letter to Gov. Lamont raising concerns about his plan to begin to reopen the state next week
A group of State Senate Democrats has sent a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont expressing concern over the governor's plan to reopen the state beginning on May 20.
In the letter, the senators listed questions they have about some of the criteria that Lamont has laid out as key to slowly reopening the state.
Among their concerns is the governor's reliance on a statewide decline in hospitalizations. The senators want to know the state's plan if hospitalizations climb in one area of the state.
They cited New York's plan to reopen by region, rather than a statewide policy.
The senators also raised concerns about whether the state will have adequate testing to reopen.
"The guidelines set by your ReOpen Advisory Group on May 1 indicate that 42,000 tests per week are required to begin reopening, but 140,000 tests per week are needed to prevent new outbreaks. When will either of these targets be met and can you assure us that sufficient testing materials can be sourced to maintain these testing levels?" the letter asked.
The lawmakers also asked the governor to define what adequate healthcare capacity, adequate supply of PPE, and appropriate physical distancing regulations all mean.
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The 11 senators who signed the letter include Senate Pro Tem Martin Looney and Dr. Saud Anwar. Anwar is a physician who has been working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the questions submitted to the governor, the letter also included recommendations by Dr. Anwar for the governor to help him address some of the group's concerns.
During a news conference on Thursday, Gov. Lamont said the senators should listen to his daily briefings and better understand the metrics being set by the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Board.
