By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
On the day that the governor’s orders take effect that cloth face masks be worn in public to stem the spread of coronavirus, the state on Saturday revealed the highest single-day death toll since the counting began.
Nineteen deaths were reported Saturday by the Department of Health, bringing the total fatalities from the virus in Rhode Island to 137, with 317 new cases reported over the past 24 hours, for an overall total of 4,491.
Governor Gina Raimondo began her daily briefing telling Rhode Islanders that the regulations she imposed, including widespread business and school closures and orders to wear cloth face masks were having a positive effect.
“Don’t look for ways to get around the rules, look for creative ways to follow the rules,” she said.
Raimondo and Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said that they were working to understand why about 45 percent of coronavirus cases involve members of the Latino community.
“Action steps are being taken to help address concerns that we acknowledge are occurring with communities of color,” said Alexander-Scott.
In other developments on Saturday:
The American Civil Liberties Union Rhode Island affiliate said it had filed suit against the Wyatt Detention Center on behalf of three ICE detainees, saying the three, immigrants with underlying medical conditions, were subjected a heightened risk to contract coronavirus due to the close quarters of the Central Falls jail.
More than 250 Rhode Island artists, described as being in financial distress as a result of the pandemic’s effects, will share in more than $126,000 in grants from the Rhode Island Artist Relief Fund, established by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the Rhode Island Foundation and the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism.
