PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Shopping in retail stores with limited numbers of customers, al fresco-only dining at restaurants, and some people returning to their offices for work are a few of the measures Gov. Gina Raimondo hopes to allow starting this weekend, she said at a news conference Monday.
Raimondo said she hopes to lift to the state’s stay-at-home order Friday and launch a three-phase restart of the economy the next day. Details of the reopening plan are posted on the website reopeningri.com.
“I’m focused on getting people back to work,” the Democrat said.
Retailers that have been closed during the coronavirus pandemic because they were deemed nonessential will be allowed to have one customer inside for every 300 square feet of floor space, which is the standard currently used in supermarkets.
Restaurants that reopen will have to arrange seating that allows for social distancing, reusable items like menus wont be allowed, and staff will have to wear masks, she said.
People who can work from home should continue to do so, but people who need to go into an office will be asked to maintain social distancing, and common areas such as breakrooms will remain closed, she said.
The bad news is that even with Mother’s Day approaching, visitation to nursing homes still won’t be allowed, given the vulnerability to the disease of many elderly people, she said.
Other developments in Rhode Island:
NUMBER OF NEW CASES DROPS
The state Department of Health on Monday reported 175 new cases of the coronavirus, the lowest daily count since April 6. The state now has more than 9,600 known cases.
The agency also announced 21 more deaths, bringing the state total to 341. Seventeen of those people were in their 80s and 90s, Director Nicole Alexander-Scott said.
Almost 340 people remain hospitalized with the disease, with 84 in intensive care, and 61 on ventilators.
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CVS MENTAL HEALTH
CVS Health announced Monday it has committed more than $1 million in charitable contributions to address the mental and emotional well-being of health care workers, seniors and other essential workers because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Front-line health care workers are under extreme stress and anxiety fighting to save the lives of patients with COVID-19, while isolating themselves after their shifts to keep their families safe, the Woonsocket-based pharmacy and health care company said in a statement.
Older adults, particularly vulnerable to the disease, also often find themselves isolated from family and friends.
“The wrath of COVID-19 is not just physical. Mental trauma is the deadly undertow of the pandemic’s first wave,” said Karen Lynch, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of the Aetna Business Unit. “The impact of isolation, fear, uncertainty and loss can be just as deadly as the virus itself.”
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LOOMING BUDGET DEFICIT
Rhode Island lawmakers face some tough decisions as the state emerges from the coronavirus crisis and tries to plug a budget gap of at least $400 million, but higher taxes appear to be off the table, several legislators told The Providence Journal.
“Those most impacted by the pandemic should not bear the costs of rebuilding Rhode Island, so I am vehemently opposed to tolling cars and raising taxes on our working families and small businesses,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey said.
Republican Sen. Elaine Morgan said she is opposed to any sales or income tax hikes or toll expansion and against legalizing marijuana, but suggested furloughs or layoffs of “nonessential″ state workers.
Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello said his team is looking for creative ways to use the $1.7 billion the state has received from Washington for coronavirus-related expenses.
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BRIDGE TRAFFIC
The amount of traffic making its way across the Newport Pell Bridge in Rhode Island has dropped significantly as the coronavirus has taken hold.
Just 7,520 vehicles crossed the bridge on April 12, which was Easter Sunday, according to The Newport Daily News, citing figures from the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority. That was down from almost 20,500 vehicles on Easter Sunday in 2019.
From March 1 to April 12, 2019, there were more than 1,200,000 vehicle crossings, but during the same span this year, there were about 770,000 crossings, a decline of about 36%, according to the state.
