PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island announced 13 additional deaths from the coronavirus Friday, bringing the total number of reported deaths in the state to 202.
That’s a record for number of deaths in a single day, according to the state Department of Health, which also announced that over 430 more people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of reported cases to almost 6,700.
Of those with the virus, almost 270 are hospitalized and about 50 are on ventilators.
In other coronavirus-related developments in Rhode Island:
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MORE TESTING
More than 2,830 people were tested for the virus in Rhode Island on Thursday, the most so far in a single day.
The state will soon roll out additional walk-up testing sites and mobile diagnostic units that can test people in their own homes, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Friday during her daily update on the state’s outbreak response. She said broad testing of the community will help officials track and contain the spread of the virus.
Existing walk-up sites in Pawtucket and Providence are already testing about 100 people a day.
“Testing is the key component to allowing us to go back to work,” she said. “We need to get into the community.”
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ECONOMIC SUPPORT
Twenty banks have agreed to grant a 90-day grace period for residential mortgage payments, allowing Rhode Island home owners to make late payments without worry of late fees or damage to their credit.
In addition, Raimondo announced a 60-day halt to the start of new foreclosures or evictions, and said that beginning next week the state will provide up to $1.5 million in rental assistance for eligible low income renters impacted by the outbreak.
More information, including the specific banks participating in the program, is available at the state Department of Business Regulation’s website.
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HELP FOR HEALTH CARE
Members of the Rhode Island National Guard will begin assisting nursing homes, group homes and other types of communal living facilities, Raimondo said.
The Guard personnel will focus on infection control efforts and ensuring that workers have access to personal protective equipment.
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ROOM TO PLAY
Providence officials are considering a plan to restrict traffic on some neighborhood streets to give residents more room to walk, run and ride bicycles.
Under the plan, streets in some dense parts of the city would be limited to one-way or local traffic only. Specific streets haven’t been announced.
Many residents are using sidewalks to exercise or temporarily escape shelter-in-place directives. Mayor Jorge Elorza said more space would allow more people to get outside while ensuring they can do so without spreading the virus.
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HELP FOR ARTS GROUPS
Arts organizations in Rhode Island will share in more than $840,000 in federal relief funding intended to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic.
Local arts and humanities groups have been hit hard as the outbreak has shuttered performances and art shows and forced some groups to consider layoffs or budget cuts.
Museums, libraries, historical societies, theaters and other nonprofit cultural organizations can apply for the money, according to the Rhode Island Council on the Arts and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, which will administer the grants.
A more than $2 trillion stimulus package recently approved by Congress includes $150 million for cultural organizations around the country.
