PROVIDENCE – Due to a new surge of coronavirus cases in Rhode Island, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo announced Friday a reduction of social gatherings from 15 people to 10 people.
If gatherings exceed more than 10 people, the host will receive a fine of $500 per person over the limit, according to Raimondo.
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She said this limit applies to any friends or family gatherings, holiday or birthday parties, dinner parties, baby showers and sleepovers, but not formal gatherings such as workplaces, schools or buses.
“If you can keep it to five, that would be better,” said Raimondo, and asked Rhode Islanders to stick to that stable group of people for the next two weeks, and to wear a mask. “Shrink your social network.”
Raimondo said she will be signing an executive order for the social gathering limit by the end of the day Friday. In addition, effective Friday, the governor said there will not be spectators at school sporting events for the next two weeks. However, she said there may be exceptions for small children’s teams. In addition, a third of the cases stemming from sports games are coming from indoor spaces such as hockey rinks.
Effective Nov. 2, all ice rinks and indoor sports facilities will be closed for one week in order for the state to work with owners of these facilities to find new regulations and protocols for when they reopen, such as mask mandates, locker room rules and more, said the governor.
“We’ve got to lock it down right now,” said Raimondo on indoor sports facilities. These rules do not apply to collegiate or professional sports.
Raimondo later said during the press conference that there’s “no guarantee” that these facilities will reopen in a week.
In addition, while no set restriction has been made at visitations at nursing homes, Raimondo said the state will be working over the weekend to figure out how to “scale back on visitation.”
“This really stinks, and I get that,” said Raimondo. “We’re going to do our best for certain circumstances.”
Changes for nursing homes will be announced next week.
The governor also recommended some changes to other sectors. Houses of worship are being encouraged to offer virtual services for all while she is asking employers to allow employees to work from home. Raimondo announced that there will be a $5 million grant program available through R.I. Commerce Friday to assist businesses to allow employees to work from home. Business owners can use these funds to purchase items such as laptops and software, according to Raimondo.
Diners at restaurants should wear masks when they are not eating or drinking, according to Raimondo.
This news comes as the first part of two restriction announcements. The next round of restrictions will be on Nov. 5 during a press conference.
Raimondo has echoed that social gatherings have been the link to many case investigations by contact tracers at the R.I. Department of Health for the past couple of weeks.
For example, Raimondo said case investigators found a party among high school students in the East Bay. There were “at least 20 people there,” if not more. There have been five positive cases with four different school districts impacted.
“It cannot happen. For the next two weeks, it cannot happen,” said Raimondo.
Raimondo said these new restrictions will be followed by collaborative discussions with neighboring governors, such as Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. She said she hopes to have a coordinated approach with Baker and Lamont to prevent any high impact to commerce.
“We have a couple of weeks to get back on track,” said Raimondo.
The press conference comes as the Halloween holiday is just one day away and Raimondo said she is concerned about get togethers among young adults.
“If the trend goes on for another week or two…. then it’s back to shut down,” said Raimondo.
Raimondo said the approach to these new restrictions were “targeted” to avoid a shut down and to prevent from having to open the surge hospital in Cranston, which is managed by Care New England Health System.
Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gagosz@PBN.com. You may also follow her on Twitter at @AlexaGagosz.
