Governor says Rhode Island on track to reopen

Providence (AP) — Rhode Island has met several benchmarks that Gov. Gina Raimondo said Thursday will allow her to lift the state’s stay-athome order Friday and initiate a phased-in restart of the economy this weekend.

Those benchmarks include a two-week downward or stable trend in the number of new coronavirus cases or hospitalizations; sufficient and quick testing of people with symptoms of the disease; an effective and quick contact tracing system; and a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment, the Democrat said at her daily news conference.

“My goal is to get as many people back to work as quickly as possible without ever jeopardizing our public health and without ever having to go backwards to where we’ve just come from, which is shutting down our economy,” she said.

Life in the first phase of the restart won’t look much different than it does now, she said, noting that people still will be required to wear face coverings in public, social distancing must be maintained and social gatherings will be limited to five at most until at least May 22.

“We want to keep our networks small,” she said.

Under her plan, nonessential businesses will be allowed to reopen, hospitals can start scheduling elective and noncritical procedures, and some state parks will reopen.

Houses of worship also will be allowed to reopen, but gatherings will be limited to five people.

Up to 10 people will be allowed to attend funerals, while maintaining appropriate social distancing.

People traveling to Rhode Island and planning to stay in the state still will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days until May 22.