RI Could Exceed Hospital Surge Capacity In 4 Weeks

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island is well on its way to a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gina Raimondo said Wednesday, adding that current trends indicate the state could exceed hospital surge capacity within four to five weeks if immediate changes are not made.

The governor said she will announce new restrictions on Friday at 1 p.m. to help slow the spread of coronavirus in the state, and that "everything is currently on the table." This could include a return to phase two of reopening, further restrictions on workplaces, a lowering of the social gathering limit, currently at 15 people or fewer, and more.

Raimondo confirmed that she considered the state to be in a second wave of the pandemic, and urged all Rhode Islanders to take action now to avoid the hospital surge and once again flatten the curve of cases in the state.

"We're in a bad place," she said. "We need to start doing things differently if we want to reverse the trend."

As has been the case for the past several weeks, the majority of spread in the state is coming from unstructured, informal gatherings, explained Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health. Visits with family, small gatherings of friends, coffee after a faith service and other such groups frequently happen without mask-wearing or social distancing, which allows the virus to quickly spread. Previously, the doctor urged all Rhode Islanders to make mask-wearing "the default," and she again reminded residents Wednesday that masks must be worn any time a person spends time with someone outside their immediate household.

"Make it as normal as brushing your teeth," Alexander-Scott said. "There is no COVID-19 vaccine right now. The only way to stop the spread is by being accountable, being responsible and acting to keep those around you safe."

Raimondo took this measure a step further, asking Rhode Islanders to avoid all unnecessary social interactions for the next few weeks; only coming into contact with those they absolutely have to for the near future.

"All of the 'nice to have' [gatherings] ... I'm asking you not to do it," Raimondo said. "If you find yourself in a setting, any setting ... with people you don't live with, please put your mask on."

As was the case at the height during the pandemic in the spring, Raimondo again asked residents to "dust off" their contact tracing notebooks, writing down at the end of each day all the people they had contact with. In addition, she asked everyone to take a moment to make a list of the people that are needed to come into contact with, and make every effort to stay within that small, closed circle.

"Let's get back to using our contact tracing journals," she said.

By limiting their social groups, Rhode Islanders will also help speed up the contact tracing process, Raimondo said, which has been severely slowed down by an influx of cases and many confirmed positive individuals with too many close contacts — some as many as 50.

"No one should have that," she said.

The Rhode Island Department of Health's contact tracers must call every close contact of confirmed positive cases, meaning individual case investigations take longer for every extra close contact a person has.

At this time, Rhode Island remains in phase three of reopening. Wednesday marked the end of the current executive order, which the governor said she extended, but expects to amend following Friday's 1 p.m. news conference. While moving back a phase is a possibility, she said she's not sure it would be the most effective action at this time.

"I'm not convinced going back to phase two is the right choice," Raimondo said. "I know I need to do something ... [I'm considering] what's the smartest, most targeted interventions I can make."

Unlike other areas such as Boston, Rhode Island will not move schools to fully distanced learning at this point, Raimondo said, because there are no indicators that there is widespread transmission within the school community. Instead, the data continues to show that distanced learners have more coronavirus cases per capita than their in-person peers, she said.

There are currently approximately 98,500 students learning in person, statewide, and 49,700 at home. To date, there have been 363 cases connected to in-person learners, and 312 connected to virtual learning.

"There's no data to suggest that it is 'safer' for students and teachers to go to distant learning," Raimondo said, adding that there are confirmed downsides to closing schools, which include students struggling academically, social isolation and mental health concerns in children. "As long as the data shows it is safe and as long as we can keep our systems going, we'll keep our kids in school."

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