Lamont to co-chair pandemic task force

Gov. Ned Lamont will co-chair the National Governors Association’s new Pandemic and Disaster Response Task Force, his office announced Wednesday.

The task force is one of three the organization has created to coordinate response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to lead economic recovery and community renewal efforts. Lamont will co-chair alongside Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican from Tennessee.

In a statement, Lamont thanked New York Gov. AndrewCuomo, the NGA’s chairman, for an “important responsibility.”

“Throughout this unprecedented crisis, I have worked with my neighboring governors to ensure our responses were coordinated,” Lamont said. “Our state has provided leadership and ingenuity, as we know our approach saved lives. Our public health professionals set up nation-leading testing and contact tracing infrastructure, which have assisted in our response to the coronavirus pandemic. We also worked with our federal partners as we responded to multiple severe weather events, and I am eager to exchange ideas and best practices with my fellow governors.”

Lamont has often stressed the need to collaborate during the pandemic, working at various times with governors from New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Delaware on travel rules, reopening strategy and more.

Though Lamont has sometimes received criticism from one or both sides during the pandemic, either for imposing too many restrictions or for not imposing enough, his approval rating has increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic.

As of late October, 53.5% of Connecticut residents approved of Lamont’s performance according to a Sacred Heart University poll — up from 31% in March and 41% in April. The same poll found that 71% of state residents approved of Lamont communication with the public regarding the pandemic and of his handling of the health crisis.