Editor's note: This story appears on our websites as part of a new partnership between Beacon Communications and East Bay Newspapers to share coverage of the COVID-19 crisis. For full audio of the governor's follow-up conference call with reporters, click here.
Gov. Gina Raimondo opened her daily press briefing with cautious optimism, noting that with 365 new cases and 10 new fatalities, numbers were, at least, holding steady over the past several days.
“It seems to be a bit of a plateau,” she said. “I don’t know that we can say it’s a trend, but it’s good news and this is a good news day. Everything is very stable.”
“We can start to see some light at the end of the tunnel.”
The 365 additional new cases make a total of 5,841 cases in the state. Of the 10 new fatalities, two of the people were in their 60s, one was in their 70s, four were in their 80s, two were in their 90s, and one was over 100 years old. Eight were residents of nursing homes.
The governor went on to thank the companies and organizations involved in the public-private partnerships that she credits for helping the state get a handle on this crisis, from CVS for its testing site, to the local building trades for getting the field hospitals built so quickly, to Brown University for offering free housing to front-line healthcare workers, to Providence College, for offering its dining hall to serve as a central kitchen for the field hospital in Cranston.
Thanks to them and many others, she said, “we’re in a decent place, relative to where we could have been, and where some others cities and states are.”
She spent some time talking about reopening the economy, expressing concern that eager Rhode Islanders might jump the gun. “If we don’t continue to follow the rules, we could end up back where we were,” she said.
She addressed older Rhode Islanders directly, warning them that their reentry would be, by necessity, slower, and she urged employers to think about what extra measures they could take in the workplace to best protect their employees over age 60.
Asked during the Q&A what she would say to older Rhode Islanders who say they are in great shape and don’t need new rules, she assured them that restrictions would not be unnecessarily severe, but that the reality is we will see more cases when we reopen and it will be worse for older people. “It just makes sense to put out additional guidance,” Raimondo said.
Parks, beaches, to reopen soon
On this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Raimondo announced that restrictions on visiting parks and beaches would be among the first to be relaxed, and said she had asked DEM Director Janet Coit to work with the Department of Health and other stakeholders to roll out a plan.
“I hope to announce a plan next week, and enjoy parks and beaches again in May,” Raimondo said. “I want to be clear, we will not be reopening them now, and not this weekend. Like everything else, it will be in a staged fashion, with new restrictions, incrementally.”
“This gives me hope. We are not there yet, but hope is on the horizon.”
Also in honor of Earth Day, she took the opportunity to note that littering has increased dramatically since the onset of the coronavirus, and suggested that needs to stop.
Symptom self-checker
The governor announced the rollout of a new tool to help Rhode Islanders make good health decisions about COVID-19. It’s an app that features a series of questions designed to help you determine when you need to seek care.
“It’s not a substitute for seeking medical help; it’s a guide to figure out when you should do that,” she said.
The app is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and can be accessed at covidselfcheck.ri.gov.
Lyme disease
Alexander-Scott noted that there are 270 Rhode Islanders currently hospitalized with Covid-19, and of these, some 71 are in intensive care.
She then took the opportunity to discuss another thing Rhode Islanders need to be especially vigilant about this spring: Lyme Disease. With the fifth-highest rate of Lyme in the country, and an exceptionally mild winder, Lyme and other tick-borne diseases will be ongoing concerns for Rhode Islanders this season.
Alexander-Scott suggested following the guidelines to repel, check, and remove ticks to stay safe.
The economy and state revenues
A question was asked about state revenues. The governor said that closed casinos and delayed taxes, “have pushed revenues off a cliff and we don’t yet know how bad it’s going to be.” She is awaiting guidance from the federal government about how they are allowed to spend stimulus funds, but suggested she would have more answers in about a month’s time.
Likewise, guidelines about reopening certain businesses will be coming out in the next couple of weeks.
“We are still in crisis mode, and we are all anxious to get out," Raimondo said. “But we are still trying to figure out reopening the economy.”
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