On Thursday, the state reported 228 new cases of COVID-19. Cases of the virus have been on the rise for the last two weeks. The seven day positivity rate of more than 1.7 percent is the highest it’s been in nearly two months.
There have now been 27,438 cases identified in Rhode Island. The state also reported two new COVID-19 associated fatalities, bringing the total number of related deaths to 1,149.
“This could easily become” a so-called second wave, Raimondo said during a press conference Thursday.
“We are entering a tough few months right now,” Raimondo said of the current season, as back-to-back holidays may create more opportunities for intimate gatherings, shared meals, and ultimately the spread of COVID-19.
“We don’t want any more stay at home orders,” at Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s, Raimondo said.
According to Raimondo, the main cause of the uptick in coronavirus cases is small gatherings with family and friends, in places where people feel comfortable sharing meals, removing masks, and breaking social distancing guidelines.
It is not an easy situation to regulate, Raimondo said, because most of the problems are happening in private homes.
The state will step up its enforcement of the current guidelines, including the social gathering limit of 15 people, and COVID-19 specific business policies. Additionally, the state police will be tripling their presence in neighborhoods around Halloween, to make sure there are not parties violating regulations.
Raimondo declined to reduce the social gathering limit. But she asked residents to continue social distancing, and wearing a mask while interacting with people they do not live with.
“Mask wearing should now be the default, whether you are indoors or outdoors,” said State Health Department Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, adding that the state department of health’s guidelines will also be updated.
Raimondo renewed her request that asymptomatic residents, especially young people, and those who work in industries where they are in regular contact with others, get tested. The state has allocated an estimated $100-million of federal stimulus funding to pay for the testing, according to Raimondo.
The Governor acknowledged that much of the reduction of spread may depend on residents following the state’s pleas for greater vigilance to guidelines, than new regulations and restrictions.
“I’m out of levers,” Raimondo said. “So I’m asking Rhode Island to do the right thing.”
