PROVIDENCE – The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Friday announced steps to mitigate spread of the coronavirus, including closing public access to the courthouse building at One Exchange Terrace until further notice.
Operations at the John O. Pastore Building, located at Two Exchange Terrace, will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays but will remain open for limited purposes Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The court said that the presiding judge’s case manager will cancel all in-person civil matters and arrange hearings to be conducted telephonically. All grand jury proceedings and ongoing criminal hearings will continue, with exceptions.
The court is just one of the recent local closings related to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States.
Providence city buildings will close March 14 and reopen on March 30.
The General Assembly announced Friday that House and Senate sessions and committee hearings will be closed next week.
The decision announced by House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello is in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and was made in collaboration with the R.I. Department of Health.
The closure will allow the state department of administration to thoroughly clean the State House, the announcement stated.
Others include:
- Providence Municipal Court has been canceled until further notice.
- The Providence Athenaeum will close until further notice.
- The New Bedford Whaling Museum is closed to the public through March 27
Postponements announced Friday:
- Pawtucket’s Arts and Cultural Commission has postponed its opening reception for its upcoming show celebrating the work of women artists of Northern Rhode Island. A date has yet to be determined.
- The Stadium Theatre has rescheduled four upcoming shows with new dates to be determined.
- Read PBN’s previous coverage of event cancellations and postponements here.
Policy changes:
- Eleanor Slater Hospital’s no-visitation policy now applies to all patients and facilities. This includes the Regan, Adolph Meyer and Benton buildings, in Cranston, and the Zambarano Campus, in Burrillville.
(ADDS fifth paragraph on Providence city buildings closing.)
