Governor Gina Raimondo announced Sunday that there were eight new COVID-19 related deaths in Rhode Island bringing our total to 25. Raimondo also said there were 116 new cases bringing our total to 922.
Dr. James McDonald on the RIDOH said the eight victims ranged in age from their 60s to their 90s; three males and five females. Three were residents at Golden Crest Nursing Home and two were residents at Oak Hill Nursing Home.
70% of those hospitalized had at least one pre-existing condition.
“We are in rapid spread of the disease. These social distancing rules aren’t suggestions; it is the law,” Raimondo said. “This isn’t a joke; this is serious. If you find out that you’re positive, we will immediately start a contact tracing system. RIDOH will get in touch w you. At that point, you should pull out your notebook of contacts and hand it to RIDOH so they have accurate info.”
“We are climbing up the curve,” Raimondo continued. “And we’re several weeks from the peak.”
.@GovRaimondo: Tough talk for those of you still crowding into big box retail shops: I don’t know what you’re thinking. If you look at other countries/states, you see in the data, fewer people sick, dying, in the hospital. Yesterday, way too many calls of big crowds. #KnockItOff!
— RI Dept. of Health (@RIHEALTH) April 5, 2020
“If you don’t start getting more serious, I am going to shut it all down. I will go around in my truck all over the state today to check on things, and you will not want to be in that group if I see you. It’s on every one of us.”
“If you see violations of social distancing at stores, post a picture on social media, go to dbr.ri.gov to file a complaint, or call 889-5550. We have to be really serious about this.”
