Coronavirus In RI: Residents Encouraged To Wear Fabric Face Masks

PROVIDENCE, RI — Two more people in Rhode Island died from the new coronavirus and 54 more contracted the illness, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Friday.

The death toll rose to 14 and total cases hit 711. Seventy-two people are hospitalized.

Officials on Friday encouraged residents to wear fabric face coverings, and not surgical face masks or respirators, when venturing outside.

The new guidelines were issued as the Rhode Island Department of Health learns more about the spread of the virus, Director of Health Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said. Many COVID-19 patients have minimal or mild symptoms, meaning that they can transmit the virus without necessarily knowing they are sick.

Residents were urged to avoid wearing N95 masks and similar coverings, as they are in short supply and needed for health care workers. Instead, residents were asked to wear fabric face coverings, including a home-sewn fabric mask or an improvised covering such as a scarf or T-shirt. The coverings can help to prevent the spread of the virus from the wearer to those around them and are not intended to prevent someone from getting the virus.

Alexander-Scott said advised people not to touch the fabric coverings while wearing them and to wash them with hot water and soap, then dry them using the machine's hot setting. Ideally, masks should be laundered after every use or washed at least once per day. Masks should not be a replacement for other social distancing measures, Alexander-Scott reiterated.

Raimondo again urged all Rhode Islanders to strictly follow social distancing orders, reiterating that the state is under a stay-at-home order. That means not leaving the house unless it it absolutely necessary to do so and following distancing requirements when in public. This includes staying 6 feet away from others, washing hands frequently, using alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and avoiding groups of five people or more.

"You have heard me day, after day, after day, asking you to obey the orders regarding social distancing," Raimondo said. "Many of you are doing it. And I thank you. You are saving lives. You are saving lives of yourself and your family. That means stay in your house. That means go out quickly, by yourself, to the grocery store or the pharmacy, and then come back home."

The closure of child care centers was extended throughout the month of April, a decision Raimondo called difficult for working parents, but necessary.

To help those who are unable to leave their homes due to quarantine, the state has launched a service to help with grocery deliveries. Unfortunately, the system was quickly overwhelmed, the governor said, and should only be used by those who need it. Young, healthy people are asked to go shopping, by themselves, and to check in on quarantined or elderly family and neighbors to see if they can get groceries for them, as well.

"We need that service," Raimondo said. "We need it for the elderly. And we particularly need it for people in quarantine. Right now we are totally overwhelmed. Do not break your quarantine to get food. If you can't find someone to go get it for you go on the website and we will find some way to deliver it to you."

In preparation for the inevitable surge in cases and hospitalizations, the Army Corps of Engineers and National Guard are working to prepare several facilities to become overflow hospitals. The three sites are the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence, the former Citizen's Bank building in Cranston and the former Lowe's building in Quonset. Combined, these three sites will provide more than 1,000 additional hospital beds, Raimondo said. Transforming these facilities into functioning hospital spaces will be a "Herculean effort," Raimondo said, and the state is working to obtain needed beds and other supplies.

"I don't want to scare you. But I want to level with you," Raimondo said. "Right now we don't have enough ventilators to take care of people if the surge hits sooner than we think, or is higher than we think. People will die."

Along with medical supplies, the state also needs all health care workers who are able to do so to volunteer their services. Retired, out-of-work, recent graduates and part time health care professionals are asked to register with RI Responds.

"We need you to raise your hand to be able to help us. It's not just a volunteer thing. We will be able to pay you to do this work," Raimondo said.

One of the two most recent deaths was a nursing home resident, Dr. Alexander-Scott said. So far, 12 Rhode Island nursing homes have reported at least one case of COVID-19, she said, with spikes in cases at Oak Hill in Pawtucket and Golden Crest Nursing Centre in North Providence. Six cases have been reported at Oakland Grove nursing home in Woonsocket. The other homes have all had less than five cases each.

Because nursing homes house some of the most vulnerable populations, strict measures are being taken to protect residents and staff. All residents who are positive or presumed positive are placed in private rooms with one staff member assigned to bring food, offer assistance and clean the room. Former roommates are being treated as if they are positive, as well, Alexander-Scott said, and staff are checking their own temperatures every four hours.

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