THE LATEST: Resist urge to visit family members on Easter, Raimondo says

Editor's note: This story appears on our websites as part of a new partnership between Beacon Communications and East Bay Newspapers to share coverage of the COVID-19 crisis.

Easter is normally a time for most families to get together, break bread, share hugs and take part in an egg hunt, but Gov. Gina Raimondo pleaded with Rhode Islanders today to keep social distancing to help contain COVID-19 (coronavirus).

“This is Easter,” she said during her daily briefing on the pandemic. “It’s one of the most special days of the year for Christians, and it’s a day many of us are used to being with our families.”

The governor said she understood how tempting it is to get together with families during the holidays. “You may say, ‘It’s just one dinner; we’ve been cooped up in the house alone for five weeks.’ I’m asking you now: Please don’t do it. Please resist the temptation. I know it’s brutal to be stuck in the house.

“Right now we are in an incredibly critical period where we still have a chance to make sure this virus doesn’t spiral out of control. Even one or two or three days of letting up on social distancing will really set us back.”

Reiterating a promise she’s made in earlier briefings, however, the governor said the Easter Bunny is still coming because “he’s an essential employee.”

There will be no daily briefing from the governor on Easter Sunday

“Instead, I will have a video message played tomorrow for Easter," she said.

Seven new deaths

During Saturday’s briefing, the governor, along with Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the R.I. Department of Health, reported seven more COVID-19-related deaths in Rhode Island since Friday, bringing the total to 56.

The deceased included one person in their 50s, another in their 60s, and five in their 80s, according to Dr. Alexander-Scott.

Don’t visit nursing homes

Raimondo had a special message for residents with loved ones in nursing homes or assisted living facilities: Do not visit on Easter or any other day until the ban is lifted, and do not have plants, cards, candy or other gifts delivered. 

“We have to stick to these restrictions, even though it’s getting harder than ever,” the governor said.

She and Alexander-Scott asked residents “to get creative” when celebrating special days. 

“Take a picture of the flowers you bought” and send them to your loved one via text or email, Alexander-Scott said. “You can also do a video chat to show them what you bought, but please do not physically send it.”

Delivery people should not be going in and out of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, she said. “Every time a new person comes into a nursing home … that is a potential new exposure to the residents and staff. It is not safe.”

Alexander-Scott said she’s also hearing more reports of people going to nursing homes and visiting with their loved ones through windows, which are sometimes opened during the warmer days.

“You cannot go to the windows of nursing homes,” the doctor said. “That’s almost as equivalent as face-to-face contact.”

Social distancing

The governor said Rhode Islanders still could be doing a better job in following social distancing rules. She’s still getting reports of too many crowds inside big-box retail stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. 

“Ask yourself, ‘Is it really essential for you to go out today to buy supplies for that home improvement project?’” she said.

Residents should only be shopping when it’s absolutely necessary, the governor said. And when they do, only one family member should be going out at a time, and keeping their distance from other shoppers. 

It’s OK to go outside to walk for exercise, “but do it in a way that’s safe … Don’t bunch up in crowds,” she said. “We have to get ready for when the surge comes.”

Reassuring news about hospitals

The governor said she had good news to report about the readiness of Rhode Island’s hospital system when that surge does come.

“If you get sick, we are going to be able to take care of you,” Raimondo said. “Because Rhode Island has done a great job of closing down our public spaces and restaurants and obeying social distancing, it’s bought us time … and we’ve used that time wisely.” 

Besides making sure the state’s existing hospitals can care for more patients than normal, an effort to create new makeshift hospitals at three locations — the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, the former Citizens Bank building in Cranston and the vacant Lowe’s building in Quonset — is on track. The goal is to have at least one of them “up and running within a couple of weeks," she said.

“What is happening at these three centers is nothing short of extraordinary and truly heroic,” the governor said. Doctors and health care professionals are collaborating “around the clock” with architects, the National Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers and others in the effort.  

“They’re doing about six months’ worth of work in about four weeks, with great detail and care,” she said. “We are working for the best, but preparing for the worst.”

Again, she pleaded with retired or laid-off healthcare workers to help with the effort by signing up at riresponds.org. “There will be compensation, there will be training, and we have the PPE (personal protective equipment) to keep you safe,” she said.

Reading challenge

Raimondo gave a quick update on the reading challenge she issued to students for April. 

“I’m asking you to read every day in the month of April,” she said, adding that throughout Rhode Island, students have already logged 150,000 minutes of reading.

The governor gave a special shoutout to students at Portsmouth Middle School and Melrose School in Jamestown.

“They’ve each had 200 students log reading minutes so far,” she said.

She also praised local libraries for being creative in engaging with the public during the crisis. “We have 13 public library locations that are offering curbside pickup for families,” she said.

Raimondo also thanked organizations such as Books Are Wings, Reach Out and Read and the R.I. Festival of Children’s Book and Authors for donating more than 6,000 books so far. 

It’s easy to get down during the pandemic, she said, but strength is to be found in the many acts of kindness throughout the state. 

She mentioned one in particular: Family Service of Rhode Island providing home delivery of cleaning supplies and food to needy families. 

“They need donations,” said the governor, who urged people to text “Be Safe” to 44321 or go to Family Service’s website to learn how to help.