PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo says she is hopeful that by early next month, she will be able to begin to ease the state’s economy toward reopening.
“My goal is to stand here two weeks from today and tell you I am lifting the stay at home order,” Raimondo said.
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The order, in place through May 8, may be extended if state residents begin to disregard social distancing guidelines before that time, or if cases of COVID-19 see a sharp increase, the governor cautioned.
Raimondo laid out a three-phase plan on Monday afternoon during her daily press briefing, describing a process that she said could pull back at any time if the new coronavirus threatens to flare up again in the state.
“We’re going to have to be slow and methodical and careful, we’re going to have to exercise a lot of judgment, but we’re going to do it,” she said.
Lifting the stay-at-home order will green-light some increased social and business activity, with some retail stores allowed to add in-store order pickup and limited openings for child care.
Those who can work from home should still do so, Raimondo said.
“May 9 and May 10 aren’t going to look that different from May 7 and May 8,” she said.
By the end of the phase, some restaurants, particularly those that have outdoor eating areas, may be allowed to serve food to dine-in customers, some hair salons and barbers may open on a limited basis and some health care offices, including those that specialize in behavioral health and services such as physical therapy, can schedule face to face visits for patients.
Dentist’s offices are likely to get the go-ahead as well under “strict regulations,” Raimondo said.
Parks, beaches and other recreational areas are also among the first wave of reopenings.
All openings are to include restrictions, and social groups will continue to be limited to 10 during the plan’s first phase, Raimondo said.
With no firm timeline in place for the phased plan, state officials are looking to the numbers to determine when and how to relax guidelines.
Although the R.I. Department of Health reported Monday an increase of 269 cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 7,708, Raimondo said she is leaning toward optimism.
“Cases are remaining steady and that gives me great confidence,” she said, acknowledging that although cases numbers aren’t rising as quickly as they were earlier in the month, the weekend saw a slight uptick in the number of people who were hospitalized and in intensive care.
“Overall, it’s a very stable picture. We are not out of the woods, but we are experiencing a favorable trend in that we seem to be having a plateau,” Raimondo said.
Seven more people, all of them residents of nursing or group homes, have died from the virus, for a total of 233 deaths related to COVID-19, the health department said.
The state has 266 current hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, compared with 258 one day prior. Of those hospitalized, 81 are in the intensive care unit and 56 are on ventilators.
Testing increased by 2,482 day to day, totaling 55,885, and 452 people infected with COVID-19 have been discharged from the hospital.
Health department data is to play a crucial role in moving from phase to phase of her plan to reopen the economy, Raimondo said.
State officials will look for a 14-day downward trend in case numbers, or a 14-day trend in stabilization or decline in hospitalizations before moving on to a more-relaxed phase. Other factors, including whether hospitals are ready for a possible surge in cases and testing and contact tracing capabilities will play a role in decisions, Raimondo said.
Once the state moves into phase two, more businesses will open, including day care facilities and restaurants, more workers can return to offices and gatherings can increase to 15 people.
Phase three allows up to 50 people to gather, and further relaxes limitations, the governor said.
The outline for re-opening won’t stop there, but by then, “we’ll have some real confidence that we know what we’re doing,” Raimondo said.
Providence remains the municipality with the most positive test results at 2,318, followed by Pawtucket at 708, Cranston at 437 and North Providence at 402.
In addition, on Monday, CVS Health Corp. announced that it plans to operate 1,000 locations nationwide to administer self-swab tests to individuals meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria beginning in May. Testing will take place by appointment in parking lots or drive-thru windows, the company said.
The 1,000 sites are expected to be in operation by the end of May and CVS said that it plans to be able to process 1.5 million tests per month, subject to lab capacity and supply availability.
The company also said it is developing mobile solutions to increase testing capacity for underserved communities. The company is partnering with several organizations, including the National Medical Association for the effort.
“Our industry has been united by the unique role we can play in addressing the pandemic and protecting people’s health,” said Larry J. Merlo, CVS Health president and CEO, in a statement. “We all share the same goal, and that’s dramatically increasing the frequency and efficiency of testing so we can slow the spread of the virus and start to responsibly reopen the economy when experts tell us it’s safe.”
The effort will take place in conjunction with the large-scale testing sites the company is already operating, including its testing site in Rhode Island.
This story has been updated to include details from the governor’s press conference and to include details of CVS Health’s plan for operating testing sites across the U.S.
