COVID-19 cases reach 1,727 in R.I.; quarantine enforcement planned

Updated at 2:33 p.m.

PROVIDENCE – The state has identified 1,727 cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday afternoon, marking a 277-case increase from one day prior, with eight additional deaths, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said at a news briefing.

The state currently has 160 COVID-19-related hospitalizations, an increase from 143 one day prior.

The eight new deaths included a wider age range than has been typical, with one person in their 20s with an underlying condition, and individuals in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 90s, and two in their 80s. Health officials did not say at the briefing whether any of the victims were residents of nursing homes, which have been hard-hit by the new coronavirus. There have been a total of 43 deaths in the state related to COVID-19.

Raimondo said she now expects the state to see a surge in new cases and hospitalizations sometime between late April and late May. She added she’s signed an executive order allowing for enforcement of state orders for those in quarantine and isolation, including civil penalties “in the hundred of dollars.

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“We don’t want to punish anyone … but we’re very serious about this,” she said. The state now has more than 2,200 people in quarantine and isolation at home. That number will rise with increased testing, Raimondo said, reiterating that anyone from out of state planning to stay in Rhode Island who is not working out of the home must self-quarantine for 14 days.

The increasing number of new cases and hospitalizations at least partly reflects the dramatic expansion of testing for the virus in the state, said Raimondo. She noted that on Wednesday more than 1,800 tests were completed, close to doubling her original goal of 1,000 per day in less than a week.

“It’s an unbelievable feat, extraordinary,” she said, crediting a number of government and community partners, including CVS Health Corp. The company recently launched a free, rapid drive-through COVID-19 testing site at Twin River Hotel Casino in Lincoln capable of conducting 1,000 tests per day.

Unemployment insurance claims due to the coronavirus reached 106,694 as of Wednesday, according to the R.I. Department of Labor. At that time, the state had also seen 14,005 filings for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a benefits program created by the federal government to cover those who do not typically qualify for unemployment benefits, such as contractors, gig workers and the self-employed.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday that, as of last week, the U.S. had seen 16.8 million jobless filings due to COVID-19.

(ADDS fourth and fifth paragraphs with details on surge date, quarantine enforcement.)