CNN "The Situation Room" - Interview with Ned Lamont

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Joining us now, the Governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont.

Governor Lamont, thanks so much for joining us.

More than 3,700 Connecticut residents, as you well know, they have already died from this virus. A model by Yale, the Yale School of Public Health predicts that, if you reopen too quickly in Connecticut, the state's death toll could top 8,000 people by September.

So, how does that impact your moves towards phase two of reopening?

GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): We're reopening, and we are reopening very cautiously.

I reopened to give people a sense of confidence, if we do this one step at a time, you can get back and have a meal outside at a restaurant as of last week. You can go into a store as long as you're wearing a mask.

President Trump, you must wear a mask. That's our -- that's our guidance here in this state going forward. And, again, as we have talked about before, Wolf, we didn't shut down our economy. COVID tried to shut it down.

And our job is to give people confidence they can get back to work safely, and only if you follow the protocols.

BLITZER: If you got to wear a mask, he might not be showing up in Connecticut anytime soon.

Many of your beaches and parks, they are filled to capacity, Governor, over the holiday weekend. Do you need to do more to make sure people are still social distancing and being safe as we go into these next few summer months?

LAMONT: Yes, Wolf, we were not the Ozarks.

I mean, as you point out, we have lovely beaches along Long Island Sound, but we capped the number of people who could park maybe at 50 percent center the normal parking capacity. That allowed us to make sure that people were 10, 15 feet apart and maintained some distance on the beaches and inside our parks.

No question about that, a lot more people walk in our trails and our parks and there were a year ago at this time, but that's good. That's good for your mental health. If you keep the distance, it's not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right.

In an interview with our own Dana Bash which aired here in THE SITUATION ROOM just a little while ago, the former Vice President Joe Biden reacted to President Trump seeming to mock him for wearing a mask publicly yesterday.

I want you to listen. Watch what the former vice president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's a fool, an absolute fool to talk that way.

I mean, every leading doc in the world is saying you should wear a mask when you're in a crowd, and especially when you know you're going to be in a position where you're going to inadvertently get closer than 12 feet to somebody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The former vice president also said, this macho stuff by the president is costing people's lives.

What's your reaction to that?

LAMONT: You know who agrees with Joe Biden? Dr. Deborah Birx agrees. You know agrees? Dr. Fauci agrees.

I'd say even Vice President Pence -- he'd probably phrase it a little bit differently -- knows that the safest thing he can do was wear a surgical mask.

I was fascinated, Wolf, to find out that the front-line nurses going into the ICU units in New York City and Connecticut, they had a much lower infection rate than anybody in the general population. Why? Because they wore a surgical mask.

BLITZER: And they have protective equipment as well. And we're grateful for that.

Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut, as usual, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck to you. Good luck to everyone in Connecticut, as we head into these summer months. Appreciate you joining us.

LAMONT: Nice to see you, Wolf. Thanks.

BLITZER: Thank you.

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