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While phase I will look a lot like things are now, Raimondo said during her daily briefing, non-critical retail shops will be allowed to reopen (with restrictions, like how many customers are permitted in at a time), routine medical visits will be encouraged, and restaurants will be able to add outdoor dining at some point during the first phase.
Rhode Island reported another 21 deaths associated with COVID-19, 17 of those people in their 80s and 90s, as the state’s toll grew to 341 deaths. But the number of new cases – 175 – marked a decline over recent figures, as did the number currently hospitalized, 339.
While Rhode Island faces challenges since it has one of the highest rates of residential density in the nation, and is situated between COVID-19 hot spots New York and Boston, Raimondo said residents have paved the way for the reopening of the state.
“I just said we had 95 percent compliance with mask-wearing this weekend in our retail shops,” she said. “That’s fantastic. If we the people of Rhode Island, continue to follow the rules as we are now, we all — the people of Rhode Island — will be safer, healthier and spared some of these terrible consequences.”
The governor last week offered a blue print for a three-phase reopening of the economy.
The governor said she will offer more specifics in the days ahead regarding that. She cautioned that many elements of the response to the coronavirus – mask-wearing, staying six feet away from others, and frequently washing hands – will remain vital.
When it comes to allowing more retail outlets to open, Raimondo said, “We’re still going to encourage pre-ordering and in-store pickup as the best and safest option. However, we are going to enable stores to have limited in-person browsing. The number of customers allowed will vary based on the size of the store.”
Raimondo said she plans to speak Tuesday about a new executive order regarding the wearing of face coverings.
Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said that the focus remains on testing people with symptoms and expanding the number of testing sites.
Moving ahead, she said, there will be a heightened effort to learn more about how COVID-19 is spreading in the community. One such effort involves asking employees at four Stop & Shop supermarkets in the state if they will undergo voluntary testing. The focus on supermarket workers is based on how they come into contact with a large number of people.
