PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island reported three new deaths Tuesday totaling 30 COVID-19 deaths thus far, and extended stay-home, group limits and business restrictions through May 8.
The new deaths bring RI COVID-19 deaths to 30 since the outbreak began about five weeks ago, said Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. She said there are 147 new cases in the state for a total of 1,229 cases of the disease.
Raimondo repeated the importance of each person keeping a journal of where they have been and the people they’ve interacted with, invaluable information for the RI Department of Health (RIDOH)‘s contact tracing efforts.
“At this point, int the crisis, everyone needs to be keeping a journal of their contacts,” Raimondo said. It’s so important, she said, that the state may soon be requiring the journals from people before they are tested for COVID-19. She said such a requirement is not yet in place however.
Stay home with any illness, great or small
Raimondo urged Rhode Islanders to take advantage of sick time provided through the $2 trillion stimulus package if they feel unwell, to stay home from work to avoid spreading any sort of illness to anyone during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“It is not OK to put on a mask and go to work,” if you are feeling sick, she said. “What you should do is go in and get yourself tested,” Raimondo said.
Director of Health Nicole Alexander-Scott responded to a common question about what to do if, after getting a COVID-19 test, they have a negative result. Alexander-Scott pointed out that at the moment, people who are being tested because they’re showing symptoms of illness, and any illness has to be prevented from spreading. So everyone being tested should stay at home till their symptoms are gone no matter what the test results say, she said.
“The last thing we need right now is for people getting people ill, with anything,” Alexander-Scott said.
Three new deaths at nursing homes
Alexander-Scott reported the three new deaths were all among nursing home residents. Two were in their 70s, one from Oak Hill nursing home and the other from Golden Crest nursing home. The third death, a person in their 90s, was at Golden Crest nursing home.
On Monday, Dr. James McDonald, RIDOH Medical Director said the department is exploring a model to have nursing home residents who are COVID-19 positive cared for in the same places.
The plan would get COVID-19 patients in nursing homes the specialize care they need, and would limit transmission, said RIDOH spokesman Joseph Wendelken.
In some nursing homes, this will mean grouping COVID-19 positive residents together, termed “cohorting,” Wendelken said. Other specialized facilities will be doing this as well as accepting older adults who are being discharged from the hospital and who are COVID-19 positive.
“However, we are not planning on having COVID-19 negative residents moved out of any facilities. That is a matter of patient/resident choice,” Wendelken said.
Restrictions, executive orders, remain until May 8
Raimondo announced that several of the executive orders restricting travel, assembly and business operations during the last several weeks of the crisis will be extended through at least April 8.
Raimondo lamented the need to maintain the restrictions, noting that the state’s economy had ground to a standstill for the past month and was likely to continue that trend through the next month. Nonetheless, Raimondo listed the following orders and restrictions among those staying in place through April and early May:
- Group social gathering limit to five people (the same five people)
- Restaurant services limited to take-out (dine-in banned).
- Service businesses such as barbershops, hair salons, and yoga studios, shut down.
- All travelers, whether by air or car, must quarantine for 14 days upon arriving in Rhode Island
- Open Meeting Act restrictions on phone and teleconferenced meetings have been temporarily suspended.
- Telehealth service restrictions are lifted, and all telehealth appointments are covered under state health insurance rules.
- Gun permit processing remains extended from 7 to 30 days.
- The state and federal tax filing deadlines are moved till July 15.
Raimondo also said the State House, ACI, nursing homes, casinos, state parks and beaches are shut to the public until further notice. The Department of Labor and Training and Health Source Rhode Island will continue offering services online-only, and the DMV will continue to offer services by appointment-only.
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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