Rhode Island officials are going ahead with their plans to lift the state's "stay at home" order, effective on Saturday. In her Thursday briefing, Governor Gina Raimondo said that Rhode Island has met benchmarks needed to implement Phase 1 of reopening plan. The governor said she and RI Dept. of Health Director Nicole Alexander Scott held a conference call on Thursday with Dr. Deborah Birx, the federal Coronavirus Response Coordinator, who gave the plan a thumbs up.
The Phase 1 roll out will look "not much different from the way things look right now," Raimondo said.
- Residents are encouraged to keep social networks at a minimum and group gatherings are still limited to five people.
- The limit of 5 people at social gatherings may be lifted on May 22nd and will likely be expanded to 10-15 people.
- All update restrictions can be found at: https://www.reopeningri.com/
- Under the plan, non-essential retail stores can open with capacity limits.
- Workers who work from home are encouraged to continue to do so.
- Health care offices can open for non-emergency visits and procedures. This segment of the local economy has been especially hard hit and the governor says sh hopes that lifting the stay-at-home order will result in more people getting back to work.
- Parks will begin to open. Lists of open parks and updated regulations are on the RI D.E.M website: http://riparks.com/index.html
- Travelers coming to RI for non-business of medical purposes must still quarantine for 14 days.
- Barber shops, salons, gyms, bowling alleys, entertainment venues remain closed, but will likely open in Phase 2.
- Through June 5th:
- Travelers from outside U.S. must self-quarantine for 14 days
- Time period for background checks on gun sales may take up to 30 days
- Health insurance must cover tele-health virtual visits.
- Religious services: Places of worship may open for participation of up to 5 people at service.
- Funerals will be allowed to be held with up to 10 attendees.
- Updated regulations for religious services can be found at: https://www.reopeningri.com/
Regarding COVID-19 data, the RI Department of Health released the following statistics on Thursday:
- 325 new cases. Total= 10,530
- 18 new fatalities. Total= 388 (14/18 fatalities lived in long-term care facilities, including two at the RI Veterans' Home.)
Graphics and data: RIDOH, https://www.reopeningri.com/