→ See more of our coronavirus coverage, including community resources and personal stories.
State officials said three of the latest people to die are in their 70s, one each in their 80s and 90s, and that three of them were residents of nursing homes.
Meanwhile, with expanded testing, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Rhode Island climbed by 220, to 1,450.
Raimondo said the state is working with the global software company Salesforce to automate contacting tracing of the travel of the illness in Rhode Island.
“You track your symptoms online, maybe on a phone,” she said. “You set yourself up an appointment on your phone to go get tested. After you’re tested, there’s this somewhat automated contact tracing system. Then we monitor your quarantine and isolation, all through an integrated system.”
While lawyers are still reviewing the approach, Raimondo said it will not be a violation of civil liberties. She also pointed to how the need for this comes during a global health crisis.
As is always the case, the governor used her daily briefing to repeat some earlier messages.
One example: “We don’t want anyone who is sick to be leaving their house, period, unless you already have an appointment to get a test.”
Raimondo said expanded testing, with more than 2,000 tests now being done daily, is a necessary step for allowing more businesses to reopen.
With Wednesday marking the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover, she noted how social distancing will preclude traditional seders of more than five people. But Raimondo said the message of triumphing over an enemy is especially timely, and she asked people of all faiths to find hope through their beliefs.
The state Health director, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, addressed the conditions under which people can be considered cleared from any viral condition: after at least seven days of isolation, they need to be fever-free, without the benefit of medicine, and all symptoms have to be resolved completely.
