Raimondo to hold forum with Fauci

With a decision on the reopening of Rhode Island’s schools looming just over a week away, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo announced on Friday that she’d be joined in a virtual conversation next week by the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases for a forum on how to reopen the state’s schools in a way that balances health and safety concerns alongside children’s need for education.

Raimondo next Thursday will host a Facebook Live forum, joined by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, for a discussion on how Rhode Island plans to reopen schools. The forum will be held virtually at 3 p.m.

“I’ve been so inspired by Dr. Fauci’s leadership during this crisis and during his long career in public service, and I’m looking forward to this robust and thoughtful conversation,” Raimondo said in a statement sent via email on Friday morning.

The conversation, which can be viewed online at Facebook.com

GinaMRaimondo, will focus on the health impacts of in-person learning and the health precautions schools should be taking to keep students and staff as safe as possible.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Rhode Islanders to hear directly from one of our nation’s leading public health experts, and I hope you’ll tune in,” the governor said.

During her weekly COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Raimondo laid out the community metrics that she said would guide the state’s decision-making at the municipal level for getting kids back into classrooms this fall.

Raimondo said even though the state’s COVID-19 percent positive rate was still below 3 percent, Rhode