Raimondo won’t commit to reopening

One week after teasing Phase 3 plan, governor now on the fence

3R29ID(1C( – With the executive order on the second phase of the state’s reopening set to expire at the end of the day on 0onday, *ov. *ina 0. Raimondo said she is going to “take the weekend” to consult with experts amid the grow ing spread of the C29ID 19 virus nationwide before de ciding when Rhode Island will enter the third phase of reopening and what exactly that phase will look like.

Raimondo on )riday said she would make an announce ment on 0onday as to when the state will enter phase three of the statewide reopening, saying “I’m not yet ready to make that announcement to day.”

“The thing we are most focused on for phase three is very large events,” Raimondo said. “We are learning from the difficult experience of other states that large events are obviously a real problem.”

While Rhode Island’s C29ID 19 data showed “an other good news story” on )riday – amid “weeks of good news « an excellent trend,” said Raimondo – the gover nor could not ignore the up ward trend nationwide.

2n Thursday, the 8nited 6tates reported its highest single day total of positive C29ID 19 cases, with more than 0,000, as cases contin ued to climb in states such as California, Texas, )lorida, and $ri]ona. %ut in Rhode Island on )riday, Department of +ealth Director 1icole $lexander 6cott reported new cases and seven deaths. 2f the seven deaths, two people were in their 0s, two people were in their 0s, and three people were in their 90s. $dditionally, 91 people re mained hospitali]ed, with 1 people in intensive care and 1 people on ventilators.

$lexander 6cott also