Raimondo announces all RI public schools to close
Schools will be closed next week to avert threat of coronavirus
PROVIDENCE – After an increase in the number of Rhode Island cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) to 14 from just five a day ago, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo on Friday moved forward with a directive closing Rhode Island K-12 schools for the coming week, if not longer.
Raimondo also announced that all people returning home from international travel will be asked to self-quarantine at home for 14 days, and also enacted a more stringent nursing protocol banning all visitors from nursing homes for now.
The decision to move up the planned April school vacation to next week came as the next major step the state is taking to slow the spread of coronavirus here, as it spreads elsewhere around the country and abroad.
The governor had previously announced a guideline against all public gatherings in the state of 250 people or greater, including sporting events, meetings, and parades, as another effort to get ahead of the respiratory virus that can cause mild flu-like symptoms for many, but also severe and life-threatening illness for the most vulnerable.
While holding press conference on the latest coronavirus developments at the Department of Administration Friday afternoon, Raimondo pointed to what she described as thus far “a robust and successful response to this
unprecedented virus,” but also acknowledged that tensions and fears about the illness may also be rising.
“I feel it, we all feel it. The tone and tenor of this crisis has changed. Even in the past few hours and I would say it is an opportunity for us to take a collective deep breath,” Raimondo said.
“This is serious, I am no way underplaying the seriousness of this crisis. Having said that, panic is not helpful, spreading misinformation is very dangerous and what we all need to do is remain calm, keeping ourselves informed and follow the directions that we are offering,” the governor said.
Raimondo said the administration is not surprised by the increase in cases and noted state agencies have been preparing for a month now for what the state is seeing.
“And I do want to reiterated that again now. This is playing out as we thought it might. And the fact that we are seeing more cases and many more quarantines is not a surprise,” Raimondo said.
“And what we are doing is the same strategy that we have been doing from day one, which is to work as fast as possible to stay ahead of the virus. We are planning for the worst and working the best,” Raimondo said.
The governor’s comments came not long before President Donald Trump held a press conference in Washington, D.C., during which he announced many of the same initiatives already in place in Rhode Island, including the declaration of a federal state of emergency and expanded testing procedures supported by a list of private sector companies and corporations.
Raimondo said that in the ongoing public response to the coronavirus “literally every day, every half a day matters. Time is not our friend in this regard which is why we have moved to shut things down as quickly as possible. Because every day that we can slow the spread is a day that can keep people healthy and safe,” Raimondo said.
“Today I am announcing that we have found 9 new positive cases here in the state of Rhode Island, which takes us to a total of 14 cases. Dr. Alexander-Scott (director of the Department of Health) will be talking more about the specifics of these cases in a minute or two,” Raimondo said.
“Some of you will say `Governor, overnight you went from 5 to 14,’ yes we did, are we surprised, no. This is roughly what we have been expecting and the plans we have in place were designed for exactly this to happen,” Raimondo said.
“What happens now depends on each and every Rhode Islander doing what needs to be done to contain this virus. I want to say that again, every single Rhode Islander is on the front lines of containing this,” Raimondo said.
“If we want to stay ahead of this, every single one of us has to do our part, and that means following the instructions that we are providing to Rhode Islanders as it relates to shutting down events, staying home from work, working from home, staying home if you are sick, calling your primary care provider instead of rushing in (to the hospital), if every one of us follows these guidelines the results here will be much better for the people of Rhode Island,” Raimondo said.
“I still hear from a lot of people, ‘aren’t you overreaching, isn’t this too much of a reaction,’ the answer is absolutely not. Because what we do right now is going to determine our collective future for the next weeks and months. And we know right now this is going to get worse before it gets better. And I don’t want to sugar coat that,” Raimondo said.
While announcing her move to close schools, Raimondo said the state was moving up the previously scheduled April break for k-12 public schools to next week.
That step could also lead to a longer break after the schools finish work on plans for distance learning programs that are already in the works through the Rhode Island Department of Education and could be enacted if a longer break is subsequently deemed to be necessary.
“I want to emphasize, we are taking this a day at a time, a week at a time,” Raimondo said.
“So that the measure for today is no school next week. Teachers, principals, superintendents, work next week to prepare distance learning plans so that in the event that we need them in the weeks to come, we will be prepared,” Raimondo said.
Raimondo said she wished to thank teachers and school nurses for their help during the crisis, adding she is aware of what is being asked of them.
“We are asking you for a sacrifice here and I know that. A lot of you had plans to go away in April. We are asking you next week to stay home. To keep your kids home with you and to be available to talk the principal, to talk to school leaders, to talk to each other, in order to get the planning in place to do distance learning,” Raimondo said.
“It’s a sacrifice, it is important to do for the good of Rhode Island, for our public health, and for our kids. I want to acknowledge it and I want to thank you,” the governor said.
The school vacation also should be followed by private schools in the state and Raimondo said she was asking them to take that break as well.
Raimondo said the state was encouraging childcare and daycare and facilities to remain open next week as they may been needed by parents who will still be going to work.
“I would say this could be especially important while school is out next week,” she said.
Daycares are also a smaller environment than say a middle school with a thousand students and can better determine if someone is sick and should not attend, according to Raimondo.
In regard to her order on nursing home visits, Raimondo was firm.
“We are hearing from family members who want to visit Mom and Dad in the nursing home. ou are forbidden from visiting these nursing homes, period, until further notice,” she said.
And on travel, “Effectively immediately, if you have traveled anywhere internationally in the past 14 days and going forward from this point, I am directing you to self quarantine as soon as you come back to Rhode Island,” Raimondo said.
“And shortly, later today I will be signing an executive order to make this mandate official,” she said.
“I want to emphasize this, this goes beyond what we previously announced regarding the Level 2 and Level 3 countries categorized by the CDC. If you are a Rhode Islander and you traveled anywhere out of the U.S. in the past 14 days and you are coming home. We are ordering you to self quarantine the minute you arrive back in Rhode Island and I will be signing an executive order later today,” Raimondo said.
Raimondo also said on Friday that Rhode Islanders who do get tested for coronavirus through the state will not have to bear the cost of those tests, a concern that had been raised elsewhere.
While giving an update on the state’s number of cases, Alexander-Scott said the additional nine cases include four males and five females.
“There are three pediatric cases and six adult cases. While the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is still investigating each of these cases, we know that four unrelated trips were involved: travel to Europe, travel to the Bahamas, travel to Jamaica, and regional travel to our surrounding states (Massachusetts),” Alexander-Scott said.