Fasano on Casino Reopenings & Misleading Blumenthal Comments

Fasano Statement in Response to Comments Made at the Governor’s Daily Press Briefing

HARTFORD – Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) responded to comments made at today’s daily press briefing hosted by Governor Ned Lamont, including comments on the reopening of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos and comments made by Senator Richard Blumenthal on the privacy of COVID-19 testing.

“After seeing what the tribes are doing Governor Lamont appears to have softened his stance on casinos reopening, now saluting the tribes for closing down early on and talking about their exchange of ideas on safety precautions,” said Fasano. “My question is this: if casinos in Eastern Connecticut are going to be open on June 1 with proper protections in place, why couldn’t other smaller businesses also open at the same time especially in that region? What the casinos have done is shown how private businesses can set clear and strong safety precautions when given the ability and flexibility. This begs the question why can’t other businesses left to their own innovations, that are smaller, and in which it’s even easier to maintain safety and sanitization precautions also reopen? Even Rhode Island is allowing indoor dining on June 1. Massachusetts has already allowed barbers to reopen. Why are so many small businesses still being left behind here in Connecticut? Why are we waiting four weeks, almost double any other state, to move to the next phase?”

Sen. Fasano also questioned the accuracy of comments made by Senator Blumenthal on testing privacy saying that your test results are “yours and yours alone.”

“I believe testing is an important tool in managing this pandemic and needs to happen,” said Sen. Fasano. “But I don’t think it’s right to mislead the public by promising complete privacy when that is not the case. One of the major reasons for testing is contact tracing and preventing the spread of the virus. The state government is receiving data from every test. While you can opt out of the state’s ContacCT system, according to the state website, ‘If you decide not to participate, you should expect a daily phone call to achieve similar monitoring to what the ContaCT system can provide.’ Clearly, your information is being shared with state health officials. There’s of course a reason why this is happening, but government needs to be honest about this and not try to hide the facts.”