HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - In response to President Donald Trump's mention of a possible quarantine for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont said the president's words created some confusion and "confusion can lead to panic."
During a Saturday evening news briefing, Lamont said he thinks White House officials were "thinking out loud" when he had a brief conversation with them about the proposed action.
Trump said Saturday he was considering a quarantine for New York, New Jersey and parts of Connecticut because of the hot spots of the coronavirus in those areas.
In a statement, Senator Richard Blumenthal called the proposed measure "unworkable, unenforceable and possibly unconstitutional." In a video posted to twitter, Senator Chris Murphy said now is the time to follow the governor's guidance and to not pay attention to Trump's "offhand" comments.
Lamont said he could not speculate what the president meant by a "mandatory quarantine," but he, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey reached out to White House officials to gain some clarity about it.
About two hours later, President Trump tweeted that "a quarantine will not be necessary."
Lamont said the governors will continue to work collaboratively with White House officials to get more done in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
The governor also gave an update on COVID-19 statistics in the state.
According to Lamont, there were 6 more deaths to COVID-19 since Friday, bringing the total number of deaths to 33. There are 1524 confirmed cases of the virus in Connecticut and 205 hospitalizations.
