THE LATEST: New rule to mandate workers wear masks

Seven more Rhode Islanders have died as a result of COVID-19, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Tuesday, while a new executive order set to take effect Saturday will requiring workers across various sectors to wear cloth-based face coverings on the job.

“We are really climbing up the curve, and I don’t want you to get alarmed … I’m asking you now to double down and abide by the social distancing requirements,” the governor said during her daily briefing from the State House.

The new deaths bring the state’s overall toll from the virus to 80. Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said two of the seven deaths were people in their 60s, with another two in their 70s and three in their 80s. Three of the seven were residents of nursing homes, which have been particularly hard-hit by the crisis, while another - one of the people in their 70s - was a resident of a residential home for people with differing abilities.

Officials on Tuesday also said 275 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified, bringing Rhode Island’s total confirmed case count to 3,251 since March. As of the briefing, 213 people were hospitalized, an increase of 16 from the figure reported Monday. 

During Monday’s briefing, officials said 134 people who had previously been hospitalized due to the virus had since been released after treatment. As of Monday, a cumulative total of 331 Rhode Islanders had been hospitalized due to the crisis. Officials also said the state is working to provide figures regarding the number of people considered to have recovered from the virus.

Order on masks

Raimondo on Tuesday announced a new executive order intended to clarify the previous guidance that Rhode Islanders should wear cloth-based nose and mouth coverings in public - a practice officials say will not prevent infection but can slow the spread of the virus through respiratory droplets.

The new order requires employees at a range of businesses, including those considered to be “customer-facing,” to wear face coverings in the workplace. The order will take effect Saturday, which the governor said will allow employers time to prepare.

Businesses will be required to provide face coverings for employees, and the Department of Business Regulation will be conducting “unannounced spot checks” to monitor compliance, the governor said.

Raimondo also said masks will likely be part of the “new normal” moving forward - along with teleconferencing and other social distancing techniques for workers - even when a gradual reopening of the economy begins.

“You have to do it because it’s going to protect everybody else in Rhode Island,” she said.

Alexander-Scott also addressed the face coverings mandate, saying the use of the coverings does not eliminate the need to comply with other social distancing orders.

“You should not be using a cloth-based covering as an excuse to go out into the community with symptoms,” she said.

Testing and contact tracing

While outdoor COVID-19 testing sites across the state were closed as a result of Monday’s heavy rain and strong winds, Raimondo said the state is now able to conduct more than 2,000 tests a day - a figure she previously said places Rhode Island third in the nation on a per capita basis, and which she said Tuesday likely meets the state’s needs.

“The testing, numbers per day, is in a great test … We’re about where we need to be,” she said.

She added, however, that “there’s more to do” in terms of bringing testing access to “hard-to-reach populations,” including those without easy transportation access or for whom there is a language barrier. She said discussions regarding how to address that issue remain ongoing.

The governor also said serological testing capability, which determines whether COVID-19 antibodies are present, is likely “weeks away.”

In terms of the state’s contact tracing system for those who have tested positive for the virus, Raimondo said a team of approximately 100 Department of Health employees is devoted exclusively to the task of interviewing patients and determining close contacts who need to be reached for self-quarantine instructions. She said approximately 2,800 have been contacted in the last 14 days, and on some days as many as 400 or 500 people have been reached.

Raimondo said three-quarters of all contacts are successfully reached on the first attempt, and that rises to about 90 percent on the second attempt.

She said work continues on mobile app that would allow for additional monitoring as part of the contact tracing process - although in a new turn, while responding to concerns from Republican lawmakers over privacy issues, she said the app would be incorporated on an “opt-in” basis.

“Look, I think they’re valid concerns … We’re never going to force anybody to do this,” she said, noting that the state is using new guidance from the federal Department of Health and Human Services as it develops the app and new approach.

Elsewhere during Tuesday’s briefing:

* Raimondo announced that the state’s Public Utilities Commission has extended a prohibition on utility shut-offs or collections reports for nonpayment through May 8.

She also again noted that with courts closed to non-essential business, eviction proceedings will not move forward until at least May 17. 

She added, however: “If you are in a position to be able to pay your bills, please pay your bills … This is just the time to do the right thing, for all of us.”

* Raimondo announced that a special health insurance enrollment period through HealthSource RI has been extended until April 30. She also noted that anyone who loses employer-based insurance or has a reduction in income can enroll for coverage during a special 60-day window from the date of that change.

* The governor said there have been continued reports of people showing up at health care facilities without appointments, and that a language barrier is often involved in those cases. She again said Rhode Islanders must call ahead before visiting a provider, and directed people who are experiencing symptoms to seek attention through one of the roughly 20 respiratory clinics set up across the state. A list of those clinics, along with contact information, can be found at health.ri.gov. 

* Raimondo spoke about the new partnership she has entered into with the governors of nearby states to coordinate regarding the reopening of the economy. She took part in a joint conference call with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other members of the partnership on Monday following her daily briefing. 

“This will not involve any obligation for the state,” she said. “I think of it as a working group … so we can coordinate our approaches to reopening the economy. I will always do what I think is right for Rhode Island.”

She added: “It makes sense that we coordinate and collaborate and learn from one another … none of us has done this before.”

* A new, $10 million loan program for small businesses in the state, established in partnership with Goldman Sachs, exhausted its available funds without hours of its announcement on Monday. Raimondo said she is lobbying the investment firm for additional funding and exploring other avenues of providing assistance to businesses, but she had no formal announcements Tuesday.