Shaping, and supporting, Rhode Island's reopening

Navigating the current pandemic and its all-encompassing disruption has been, and will remain, and evolving process for each of us.

In our personal lives, we’ve been faced with difficult realities and numerous challenges – staying apart from friends and loved ones, caring for children or older families members, losing a job or vital income, even keeping shelves and pantries stocked with essential items.

Some of us have confronted even harsher circumstances – being unable to visit a loved one who is hospitalized, fearing exposure to the virus as we continue to work, even falling ill ourselves.

The same disruptions have affected Rhode Island’s businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations, community and civic groups, faith communities and more. The need to rapidly implement aggressive social distancing measures as the outbreak of the virus began to escalate locally nearly two months ago had enormous – and lasting – implications across the spectrum of our society.

Those of us whose livelihoods have not been affected, as well as those whose circles have been yet untouched by COVID-19, must count ourselves deeply fortunate. And we must commit ourselves to supporting our neighbors and communities in whatever way we can during this unprecedented crisis.

We can do that through acts of kindness, thoughtful gestures and contributions to worthy causes. We must also support the economic health of our communities and our state in whatever ways we can.

Gov. Gina Raimondo this week unveiled an initial, broad outline of the phases she foresees ahead as the state begins the long, slow process of reopening its economy. At first glance, it appears to be a prudent and data-driven guide that continues the steady approach we have seen from governor and her administration since the onset of the crisis.

Yet it cannot be denied that as presented, the plan will place the state in an unprecedented position of effectively choosing survivors from among the business community.

While the Paycheck Protection Program and other assistance will help some businesses hold on, many others – and particularly the small businesses that much up so much of Rhode Island’s economy – will likely not be able to weather additional weeks and months of total closure or limited operations.

The governor was frank in her assessment that there will be a “new normal” once the reopening process begins. For restaurants, that might take the form of limited, outdoor dining to supplement take-out, pickup and delivery. For retail stores, that may entail allowing for in-store pickup of previously placed orders.

These arrangements will require significant changes in behavior for both businesses and customers, and the adjustment is certain to affect the bottom line. We imagine, too, that once the reopening begins, many consumers will remain wary of venturing out.

We know there is no perfect solution, nor is there any blueprint for the current situation. The governor, to her credit, acknowledged as much and encouraged members of the Rhode Island community to offer feedback as the process unfolds.

We urge all Rhode Islanders to view visit reopeningri.com to view the outline and to heed the governor’s call to provide thoughts and feedback. Through doing so, we may help bring all voices to the table and help to build a better roadmap for restoring our state’s economy.

Meanwhile, we ask members of our communities to support local businesses of all kinds, to whatever degree possible, in the difficult months ahead. We know that pain and more difficult times lie ahead, but together, we can make the best of it.