Governor Raimondo Emphasizes RI’s Stability: Summary of May 26 press conference

Governor Gina Raimondo and DOH Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott gave the COVID-19 press conference today at 11am at The Vets.

“It’s a very stable situation,” said Raimondo when discussing the data. “Everyone should feel confident we’re learning to live with the virus. There are 73 new positive cases of COVID-19, another 79 would have been reported yesterday. There’s a drop in the numbers from test sites being closed for the Memorial Day holiday. Two hundred twenty-six people are hospitalized, two more than yesterday. Fifty people are in the ICU, with 36 of those on ventilators. According to Dr. Alexander Scott, that’s half the number from earlier this month.

DOH reported 13 new fatalities this morning. One person was in their 60s, four in their 70s, three in their 80s, and five were in their 90s. There were also 13 fatalities to report yesterday, bringing the cumulative increase for today to 26 deaths. “We’ve lost more than 600 Rhode Islanders to the virus,” the governor said today. “I want us to be mindful of that.”

Phase 2 is still scheduled to happen in June, with sector-by-sector regulations going online at reopeningri.com every day this week. Gym owners and hair salons are scheduled to have Facebook Live town halls with the Department of Commerce. The governor said today they wanted that feedback before finalizing guidelines for those industries. On Thursday the governor intends to announce more on youth sports for the summer.

Governor Raimondo today stressed the jobs teachers have done with distance learning. “They deserve our gratitude,” she said. State and city governments face the cruelest budgets legislators have seen in a lifetime, and the governor said she could not imagine how budgets would be balanced without federal stimulus. 

Motif today asked the governor if the polarization seen nationwide with COVID-19 could be seen in a microcosm in the Ocean State, affecting different populations’ experience with the virus. The governor answered by saying the virus is everywhere, and density matters. There are more people per capita in northern urban areas then there are in South County.

Tomorrow’s press conference is scheduled for 1pm, watchable on local news, Facebook Live, or Capitol TV. Motif as always will have our summary of the governor’s comments later in the afternoon.