PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Almost everyone in an indoor or outdoor public place in Rhode Island will be required to wear a face mask starting Friday to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Tuesday.
The Democratic governor said at her daily news conference that she intends to sign an executive order requiring masks, with exceptions for small children, the developmentally disabled and people with certain medical conditions.
She said she wants people to think of masks like they do a wallet, car keys or phone — “Don’t leave home without it.”
Even people who go out alone for a walk, run or bike ride should carry a mask with them to put on if they come into contact with other people, she said.
Many people with the coronavirus don’t show symptoms, and masks help stop the transmission of the virus from person to person and from people onto surfaces, state Department of Health Director Nicole Alexander-Scott said.
But she stressed that people showing symptoms should not go out at all.
Penalties for violating the order are still being worked out, Raimondo said.
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SUPPORT SERVICES
Services set up during the pandemic to support Rhode Islanders — including meal delivery to those who are isolated, food banks, and free places to stay for people at high risk of contracting the disease who don’t want to put family members at risk — will continue even when the state launches its economic restart this weekend, Raimondo said.
She anticipates these services to continue for another year or so, and said the state is developing a one-stop app to link Rhode Islanders in need with all the resources available to them.
The state also intends to reopen a Department of Motor Vehicles satellite office at some point during the first phase of the economic restart, but transactions will be by appointment only, she said.
Right now, only the main Cranston office is open for appointment-only transactions.
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NEW NUMBERS
Rhode Island health officials on Tuesday reported 241 new cases of the virus and 14 additional fatalities in the state.
There have now been nearly 10,000 positive cases and 255 deaths, the state Department of Health reported.
The number of new cases was up from the 175 reported the previous day, the lowest daily count in about a month.
The 327 people currently hospitalized with the disease was down slightly from the previous day.
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POLICE BREAK UP CROWDS
Providence police responded to 45 calls last weekend about people gathering in large groups that did not comply with state social distancing guidelines, about four times more than previous weekends, city Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré said.
The good weather brought people out, he said.
“There were a couple basketball games that were going on, a soccer game at Merino Park that was going on and other large groups throughout the city,” he told The Providence Journal.
Police had been responding to 10 to 12 calls for dispersal in previous weekends, he said.
People were cooperative, and police did not issue fines last weekend, he said.
Police have not issued any penalties to individuals for violating city regulations related to the state of emergency declared during the coronavirus pandemic, Paré said.
Mayor Jorge Elorza told WPRO radio on Tuesday that there are not enough police to enforce the rules so residents should “self police.”
He said residents should engage in “social shaming” of people not following rules, but in a non-confrontational way.
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UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD
The FBI has joined an investigation into possible unemployment fraud in Rhode Island.
The FBI as well as several other federal and state agencies are investigating allegations of fraud involving stimulus unemployment benefits administered by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, an FBI spokeswoman told WJAR-TV.
The station reported last week that several Rhode Islanders who are still working said unemployment benefit applications had been filed using their name and personal information.
