HARTFORD, CT (1010 WINS) -- Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday reported 621 new COVID-19 cases and 66 new fatalities — and said the state would not push back its planned May 20 reopening date despite seeing several high daily death tolls this past week.
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Connecticut reported 41 COVID-19 deaths on Monday, 33 on Tuesday, 84 on Wednesday and 94 on Thursday. Earlier this week, meanwhile, a group of Democratic state senators wrote to Lamont asking him to reconsider the opening date.
During his daily briefing Friday, however, Lamont said those numbers did not necessitate delaying the first phase of reopenings in the state. A total of 36,085 state residents have now tested positive for COVID-19, and 3,285 have died.
"Deaths reflect, I'm afraid, things that were happening some weeks ago, so compared with hospitalizations and testing and PPE, it was not one of our seven metrics," he said. "But it breaks your heart every day seeing those numbers."
Hospitalizations in the state continue to decline, he said. As of Friday, 1,033 residents were hospitalized with the virus — down by 70 from Thursday.
That decrease marked "the biggest one-day drop we've had in some time," he noted. There are now around 40 percent fewer state residents hospitalized than there were at the peak several weeks ago, he said.
Earlier this week, Lamont said he was eyeing June 20 for the second phase of reopenings in the state, adding that that could involve allowing some indoor dining.
On Friday, however, the governor stressed that date was only a tentative one.
"Let's let May 20 go (by), let's see what happens in terms of activity, let's see what we can learn," he said. "Let's figure out June 20 a little bit after May 20."
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