Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont on working with East Coast governors to re-open economy
Seven East Coast states extend stay-at-home orders until at least May 15.
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The governors of three Northeastern states have announced the reopening of marinas and boatyards -- as long as they follow social distancing and sanitation protocols during the coronavirus crisis.
Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Ned Lamont of Connecticut made the joint announcement Saturday evening.
“Our states share workforces, resources, public transit, and we all have share a connection on the water,” Lamont said. “This is yet another example of how our states have shared interests, which is all the more reason to collaborate on these kinds of decisions.”
Marine manufacturers are also included in the reopening decision. Rentals and charters must remain closed, for the time being.
Dockside restaurants must follow the same guidelines as restaurants elsewhere in the three states -- serving food to go or by delivery only.
“Throughout this pandemic, we've worked closely with our friends in neighboring states to implement a uniform regional approach to reducing the spread of the virus,” Cuomo said.
Of the three states, New York and New Jersey had seen the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the country as of Saturday afternoon, with 235,395 and 81,391, respectively. The tristate region has more than 20,000 COVID-19 deaths combined.
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President Trump on Thursday announced White House guidelines on reopening the economy, but in a reversal from earlier in the week, he said governors and local officials would retain decision-making power.
And earlier this week, Cuomo, Murphy and Lamont joined Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Delaware Gov. John Carney and Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo in announcing a multi-state council aimed to restoring the economy, which ground to a halt amid widespread coronavirus-related shutdowns that urged the closure of nonessential businesses and social distancing.
But after announcing that council, Cuomo hinted that the states would have wiggle room to reopen parts of the economy as they saw fit.
"Look, we'll all work our own timetable,” Lamont said on “Cavuto LIVE” Saturday. “But it doesn't make any sense for me to open up restaurants if Andrew Cuomo keeps them closed. Because then we just have hundreds of people driving back and forth across the border. So, there [are] some things that we're going to try and do together."
Elsewhere in the country, other governors have also taken small steps toward easing restrictions this week or announced their own multistate, regional efforts.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Friday that reopened a handful of outdoor recreational activities, including at marinas and game farms, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis allowed beaches to reopen.
Fox News’ Julia Musto and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
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