Coronavirus In RI: Cases Top 1,000, 2 More Deaths

PROVIDENCE, RI — Another 160 people tested positive for the new coronavirus in Rhode Island, officials announced Monday, bringing the state's total to 1,082. Two more people died over the past day and 109 are currently in the hospital.

The increases should not come as a surprise or be cause for alarm, Gov. Gina Raimondo said.

"I've said all along these numbers are going to continue to go up," she said. "They are not cause for alarm. They are not cause for panic. It's totally consistent for what we've been planning for now for over a month ... We have widespread community spread of the virus. Many, many, many of us are going to get sick."

On Monday, Raimondo announced that a new testing site was set up by CVS Health at Twin River Casino in Lincoln.

"Today is a good day in our fight against coronavirus here in the state of Rhode Island," the governor continued. "Due to this one new site we have quite literally, overnight, doubled our capacity to test in the state of Rhode Island. ... You will be asked to wait in your car to get your result right then and there [within about 15 minutes]."

The site, operated by CVS Health, offers rapid-response tests, free of charge, for adults with symptoms. A doctor's referral is not required to get an appointment; instead Rhode Islanders can fill out a form on CVS's website to request one. Those with mild symptoms and who do not have to leave their house for work are asked to call their doctor for a referral to one of the National Guard-run drive-thru test sites.

While just as effective, the tests swabs from sites at the University of Rhode Island, Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College are processed at commercial labs, meaning results take several days. Any child in need of a test should have a doctor's referral and cannot be tested at the CVS site.

Also on Monday, Raimondo announced that out-of-work Rhode Islanders who are usually ineligible for unemployment, such as gig workers and independent contractors, will be able to apply for unemployment starting Tuesday morning. The additional $600-per-week payments on top of the amount calculated by the Department of Labor and Training from the federal government will be provided through July 31, she continued.

"Starting at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, everyone including gig workers, personal contractors and the self-employed can file for unemployment insurance," Raimondo said.

The governor reminded Rhode Islanders that unemployment benefits are only available to those who have been laid off and cannot be collected if a person voluntarily leaves their job.

With thousands of residents applying for benefits, the DLT has been overwhelmed with claims. Though the department is working to get checks out to those who need them as soon as possible, most Rhode Islanders will have to wait one to two weeks before receiving benefits. Residents are asked not to call to follow up on their claim unless at least 14 days have passed since the filing date, since this only slows the process and clogs the overloaded phone lines.

One of the two new deaths was a resident at Golden Crest nursing home, Dr. James McDonald of the Rhode island Department of Health said. This is the same facility where two of the seven nursing home deaths were reported Sunday. There are approximately 70 cases of the virus at Golden Crest, McDonald said, as well as about 70 cases at Oak Hill nursing home. Seventeen nursing homes have reported at least one case in a resident or staff member.

As of Monday, there are 109 coronavirus patients in the hospital in Rhode Island. Of these, 37 are in intensive care units, while 26 of the ICU patients require a ventilator. The state currently has 388 ventilators, McDonald said, of which about 21 percent are in use.

So far, about a third of coronavirus cases have been health care workers. However, with testing now available to all Rhode Islanders, that percentage is likely to decrease in the coming days, McDonald said.

Sunday marked the beginning of Holy Week, a time when faith communities usually gather together ahead of Easter. As with the ban on giving out palms for Palm Sunday, Rhode Islanders were reminded that they cannot attend traditional services this week. The same goes for Passover, which begins Wednesday night. While Seders are traditionally a time together together large groups of family and friends, this year it's important to only celebrate with those in the immediate household, Raimondo said.

"My heart goes out to you," Raimondo said, adding that she wished she could have attended Palm Sunday Mass with her family.

Many churches and synagogues are offering at-home services with livestream, video conference or telephone. Check with your parish to see if options are available.

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Patch editor Scott Souza contributed to this report.