PROVIDENCE – State officials are working to set up sites across Rhode Island for health care workers to administer tests for COVID-19, the disease caused by the 2019 coronavirus.
The sites, run by the R.I. Department of Health, will administer tests to people who have been directed to them, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo told reporters Thursday morning.
Raimondo outlined a number of new measures aimed at preventing spread of the coronavirus during the briefing, where she urged both caution and common sense.
“We have to be smart about this and we can’t panic, but if you’re feeling sick, pick up the phone, call your physician, [or] call the Department of Health, and if they think it’s necessary for you to be tested, you’ll be immediately routed to a safe place where you can be tested,” Raimondo said.
It’s not yet clear exactly how many sites are planned, and when they will open. Health officials are teaming up with the R.I. Emergency Management Agency to set up the sites, which may not be located in health care facilities, Raimondo said.
Testing kits are available for “a couple of hundred” people, Rhode Island’s health director, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said, adding that she feels comfortable with the number.
With two confirmed coronavirus cases, Rhode Island has not declared a state of emergency, but is working closely with a team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that arrived here several days ago in Rhode Island.
“The level of risk in Rhode Island because of coronavirus is low,” Raimondo said, adding, “We have to be vigilant, we cannot panic, and we are guiding our response based on evidence and science.”
State officials, who have set up a hotline for coronavirus-related questions and an email as well.
People with concerns such as whether it’s safe to hold events or travel or health inquiries are asked to call 401-222-8022 or email ridoh.covid19questions@health.ri.gov.
Tests will not be administered to people who do not have symptoms associated with coronavirus, Alexander-Scott said.
“Just knowing someone or having spoken to someone in the recent past who is now self-quarantining does not put you at risk,” she said.
Both she and Raimondo urged people who are sick to avoid visiting hospitals and nursing homes. Many health care facilities in the state are not allowing people younger than 18, or people who are showing symptoms of respiratory illness, to visit patients.
As a cautionary measure, the governor said any state employees who have traveled to China, Iran, Italy, South Korea or Japan within the last two weeks are to stay home from work for 14 days. Raimondo added that she is asking all Rhode Island employers to follow suit.
About 200 Rhode Islanders are in self-quarantine but the number is expected to remain fluid, Alexander-Scott said.
Results from eight tests are pending at the state health laboratory, according to DOH. So far, 17 tests have come back negative.
The two confirmed cases in the state are people who traveled to Italy on a trip organized by St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket. One, a man in his 40s who is a staff member at the school, remains hospitalized in stable condition. The other is a teenage girl who is a student at the academy. She was not hospitalized and is nearly recovered, Alexander-Scott said.
Officials would not say Thursday whether the people who are being tested now were participants on the 38-person trip, which lasted from Feb. 14 to 22.
The school announced Wednesday that it will remain closed through March 13 as a result of the coronavirus cases.
The virus has been officially named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Graham@PBN.com.
