STORM WATCH

Thanksgiving rain to soak Connecticut. Check forecast for timing and impacts.

Gov. Lamont requests more COVID-19 testing kits from CDC

Last week, the state Department of Public Health was provided testing kits to accommodate slightly more than 500 patients, the governor says.

News 12 Staff

Mar 5, 2020, 11:37 PM

Updated 1,728 days ago

Share:

Gov. Lamont requests more COVID-19 testing kits from CDC
In a letter to the CDC, Gov. Ned Lamont requested additional coronavirus testing kits “in order to comply with new federal guidance for clinicians on which patients should be tested.”
Last week, the state Department of Public Health was provided testing kits to accommodate slightly more than 500 patients, the governor says.
He believes that new CDC testing guidance “casts a broader net on the population of patients who should be tested and will result in a shortage of kits in the state.”
“Here in Connecticut, we are doing everything we can to protect our residents from the spread of this illness and want to ensure we have the capability to prepare for every possibility,” Gov. Lamont said in prepared remarks. “We continue to be proactive on this front and want to follow all of the guidance being provided by the medical community to our best ability as possible.”
Read Gov. Lamont’s letter to CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Refield below:
As of March 5, 12 Connecticut residents have been tested for COVID-19. They all tested negative for the virus. There haven’t been any confirmed cases in Connecticut.
PHOTOS: The Impact Of Coronavirus Around the World 
undefined
News 12 will host a 30-minute call-in show Monday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m. where experts will answer your questions about the coronavirus. The show will be followed by a special Facebook Live Q&A.