WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Monday spoke with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield, M.D., about the latest on the coronavirus outbreak. Murphy and Redfield also spoke about CDC’s recent notice of funding opportunity for gun violence research which Murphy helped secure. Murphy released the following statement after the call:

“Making sure Connecticut—and the rest of the country—has enough test kits is critical for us to judge appropriate measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak and make Americans safe. I raised this concern directly with the CDC Director in our call and stressed the need to be ready to support American families if schools or businesses close suddenly and their access to child-care or income suddenly is gone. As the coronavirus spreads, Congress needs to be taking steps to make sure families who have to take time off work do not fall into financial ruin. This is not the time to bail out industry. It’s time we focus resources on working families,” said Murphy.

Murphy continued: “COVID-19 also reminds us why it’s so important to invest in global health security. It’s true that CDC has helped vulnerable countries enhance their preparedness and response capacity, but they need sustained, proactive resources to fully protect our health and safety here in America. I talked to Director Redfield about partnering with him in building the case to create a true global anti-pandemic infrastructure.”

Last week, Murphy called on the CDC to provide more coronavirus test kits for Connecticut. Murphy joined CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday to discuss the latest on the coronavirus update in Connecticut and across the country. Murphy also released a statement when we learned of the first instance of coronavirus reaching Connecticut, and hailed the swift, bipartisan passage of $8.3 million in emergency funding to fight the potential pandemic in the United States and abroad.

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