Coronavirus-Focused News Briefings Are Back In Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, RI — A sign that the coronavirus pandemic is resurfacing in Rhode Island: COVID-19 news briefings are back.

Starting next week, Gov. Dan McKee and Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, will hold a news conference discussing the state of the pandemic. It's unclear at this time if state leadership plans to return to regularly scheduled public addresses focused on the pandemic.

McKee announced that the then-biweekly press briefings would come to an end in June, as coronavirus cases dropped and vaccinations continued. At the time, the governor said pandemic-focused briefings would be held on "an as-needed basis."

Since then, he and Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos have held weekly press availability on Tuesdays, open to all topics.On Thursday, McKee's office announced that the "COVID-19 Update" would be held Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Then-Gov. Gina Raimondo started holding briefings after the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Rhode Island. At the time, she and Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Department of Health, held daily briefings as the pandemic situation changed rapidly.

After social distancing orders were put into effect, the briefings were closed to all members of the public and the media, with questions later made possible by a live, online feed. The briefings were later moved to Veterans Memorial Auditorium to allow reporters to attend while maintaining physical distance.

Over time, the briefings were reduced to just weekdays, then just a few times per week, weekly, and, finally, McKee opted to hold them on a biweekly basis.