Governor Ned Lamont discussed the latest on Connecticut's coronavirus cases live on Face the Facts on Sunday and emphasized that residents shouldn't travel if they do not have to.
Gov. Lamont said the state has been preparing for this for sometime, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.
"We doubled the number of folks who were infected just yesterday. You could expect that to continue," Lamont said.
While most of Connecticut's cases are in Fairfield County, more cases are popping up across the state.
The latest information from Gov. Lamont on Saturday said so far, 20 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Connecticut. That number is expected to climb.
Of those 20 people, 15 cases are in Fairfield County, three are in Litchfield County, one is in Hartford County and one is in New Haven County.
The latest confirmed case was announced late last night by UConn Health. The hospital said a Hartford resident who is a patient there tested positive for COVID-19. The patient was discharged with instructions for his entire family to remain quarantined.
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The state has already ramped up testing a lot in the last week, according to Gov. Lamont. "We've got a long way to go. The feds were very slow in giving us permission to do this. Just two weeks ago, we were sending the tests down to Atlanta. Now we're doing it in our lab, we're doubling the capacity at our lab. We have outside labs, commercial labs, taking up more of this. I'd like to think that Yale New Haven and Hartford would be able to do some testing in the very near future. We have a way to go though," he said.
Gov. Lamont emphasized that if you don't need to travel, you shouldn't.
"If you don't have to travel, don't travel. If you don't have to go to work, check with your boss, don't go to work. If you can stay at home, stay at home. And if you want to go see grandpa or grandma, it's better to do it on FaceTime. Our elderly, those over 60, over 70, those are the ones most at risk. They've got to stay at home," he added.
Lamont also discussed the legislation that The House passed on Saturday to provide direct relief to Americans suffering physically, financially and emotionally from the coronavirus pandemic. The hard-fought aid package, also known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, will provide free testing, sick pay for workers, enhanced unemployment benefits and bolstered food programs. It now goes to the Senate.
"I want to make sure that anybody who is not feeling right knows that they should stay home, they gotta stay home and I don't want anybody to have an incentive, 'I gotta go to work because I need that paycheck.' We're going to take care of it," Gov. Lamont said.
There is currently more than 2,900 cases of coronavirus in the United States.
