PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo expects to announce on June 29 when Phase III of the state’s reopening of its economy will begin, and she’s hopeful it will be the following day.
“We’ve had weeks of good news,” she said Friday. “Hopefully, we can say, Phase III starts [June 30].” But she continued to warn Rhode Islanders to follow health guidelines, as other states are seeing record-high numbers in new coronavirus cases.
The governor’s executive order on Phase II expires June 29. Phase III will see social gathering limits rise by a range of 50 to 75 for indoor events and 75 to 150 for outdoor events, among other changes.
The governor’s comments came during a briefing that included a daily update on the spread of the new coronavirus in the state. Health officials reported 25 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 16,661, with seven more deaths.
Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said of the deaths, two people were in their 70s, two were in their 80s and three were in their 90s.
Deaths due to the virus now total 927 in the state.
The positive test rate for the virus was 1.1% for Thursday on 2,253 tests. There have been 230,508 tests administered in the state.
Current hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Rhode Island total 91, a decline of 12 day to day. Of those hospitalized, 16 are in intensive care units and 15 are on ventilators. To date, 1,600 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals.
(Updated throughout with comment from Raimondo and Alexander Scott.)
