CNN "Newsroom" - Interview with Ned Lamont

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

With me now, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.

Governor, thanks so much for joining us. Again, it's good to have you back on the program.

GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): Hey, good morning, Jim, nice to be back.

SCIUTTO: I want to play the warning that Dr. Anthony Fauci shared yesterday in the congressional testimony and just get your reaction to it as you make these decisions. Have a listen and we'll get -- we'll hear your thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Is my concern that if some areas, cities, states or what have you jump over those various checkpoints, and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Listening to that there, are you confident that Connecticut has the capability to respond to any increases in cases and hospitalizations as you reopen?

LAMONT: Yes, I'm confident, and I think Dr. Fauci would be confident as well because we have hit the metrics that he laid out as important. Hospitalizations down. We have now 40 percent capacity. Virtually all of our hospitals. So if there was a flare-up, we make sure we can take care of people. We're doubling our testing again next week. We got the biggest stockpile of PPE, really in the region's history, just yesterday. So we got a two months stockpile. I can give masks to a lot of our smaller businesses, give them -- their employees confidence that they can go back safely. And over time I think it will take time for the consumer it feel confident going back into that store.

[09:45:04]

SCIUTTO: Yes. Let me ask you to articulate, and not just for the residents of Connecticut, but other folks around the country, what the actual goal is here, because early on in the stay at home orders, et cetera, the goal was flattening the curve, right? So you don't have a giant jump in cases, but not to eliminate infections because, at the end of the day, more people are going to get infected. I suppose it's how you react to it unless people stay at home until there's a vaccine. What is the goal? I mean -- and is part of reopening accepting to some degree that more people will get infected? LAMONT: Look, I cannot eliminate risks. There will be some risks, but

I think we've mitigated it. I think we're giving people confidence that we've got it under control. If there were a flare-up at a nursing home or we -- we're ready to respond to this in an aggressive way so we can tamp down the flare-ups. Track and trace, that's like the fire department, right? They go it the flare-up and they contain the blaze.

SCIUTTO: Understood.

OK, let's talk about schools because parents around the country, they're watching these decisions for the fall very closely. I mean it's about their kids, but it's also about the parents because if the kids aren't going to school, right, what do the parents do as they begin to go back to work?

What standard are you using in Connecticut to feel safe that it's -- that it's OK to send kids back to school, both at the younger level, elementary school, high school, et cetera, but also for colleges and universities?

LAMONT: Yes, we're very cautious. As you know, we did not allow in classroom learning to continue through the end of this school year. You know, sometime in July we'll have outdoor camps, they're outdoors, smaller groups. Maybe summer school as the summer goes on so we can slowly get our kids back up to speed.

And then we look at the facts on the ground and I'm confident, or at least I should say I'm hopefully confident that we can get those schools going again in the fall.

And when it comes to colleges like you said, sort of the same metric as we go forward, you know, residence halls are probably the last decision you make because that's -- that's close quarters.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Understood. And I know that's going to be a real challenge, can you do dorm life on college campuses in the age of an outbreak, at least before a vaccine? But for parents who are listening, both parents of younger aged children in Connecticut, but also parents who might have kids going to college there, are you saying, listen, we're hopeful schools will be open in the fall?

LAMONT: That is correct. Probably smaller classrooms, more distancing, teacher probably wearing a mask, taking care of these key precautions early on and we'll see how it sorts from there.

SCIUTTO: OK, Governor Ned Lamont, we wish you, we wish the people of Connecticut good luck as you get through this.

LAMONT: Thank you, Jim.

Source