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Coronavirus Update – Today, April 30, 2020
Photo: What will we do when people rebel? Here a large funeral in New York of a much loved rabbi brought hundreds into close quarters. Police intervened and the mayor ended up apologizing for his statement, “Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic…When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus.”
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
US House of Representatives doctor advised against the House returning to meet and said it would be “about a year” before business could resume as usual.
States to allow elective surgeries at hospitals again
New York City plans to move 1,000 homeless people out of shelters into hotels each week – as homeless begin to set up camps in the city’s subways
Boeing laying over 16,000
The federal government will not extend its social distancing guidelines
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will announce all beaches and state parks will be closed, starting today.
Los Angeles to offer free coronavirus tests to all residents
Berkshire Place nursing home in Providence went from 0 to 100 in positive testing with 5-9 people dead. More testing that happens when patients test positive will show advanced number of positives. Most are not symptomatic.
Three more ACI staff test positive.
Staff cuts expected in Providence school system administration.
RI Philharmonic cancels season.
Providence College selling t-shirts to benefit the RI Food Bank. Shirts say “Us. We. Together. Family. Friars” with patriotic colors on a black background.
Florida to begin lifting stay-at-home order on Monday
Arkansas, New Jersey, etc. line up at food banks – 2,000 or more – until food banks run out of food.
Hundreds gathered on Tuesday to pay respects to a rabbi who had died from coronavirus, despite an order by the state not to gather in large numbers. Mayor DeBlasio said, “My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed.”
NEW treatment options beginning to be approved – Gilead’s remdesivir and hydroxychloroquine are both in process, with Gilead’s receiving emergency approval for use. These are antivirals and not vaccines.
Oxford University is announcing it may have a first vaccine for testing, soon.
Some analysts are predicting a country-wide meat shortage.
More than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during Wisconsin’s presidential primary this month have tested positive for COVID-19
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
50 City of Warwick employees have been laid off
Red Sox offering ways to get refunds on previously purchased tickets.
All large events are being canceled through the summer.
Events canceled include Newport Jazz, Newport Folk, Gaspee Days, 4th of July events, Washington County Fair, etc., etc. Includes loss of jobs, tourism for state.
Weddings over 50 people cannot be held through the summer.
Drive-in movie locations can begin to open, with restrictions.
Rhode Island Data – 4-29-2020
12 new deaths – 251 total deaths
321 new positive cases – 8,247 total positives
51,918 total negative cases
2,472 total tested, prior day
60,165 total tested
269 in hospital, 80 in ICU, 55 on ventilators, 391 hospital discharges
Range in age from 1in 50s, 1 in 60s, 3 in 70s, 4 in 80s, 3 in 90s. 9 lived in congregate care setting.
Note in the chart that the number for Hospital Discharged changed – this is to account for those who died in the hospital. Per the Health Department: “We are going to adjust so the ‘discharged’ category online better aligns with the way people normally understand the word. “
Buckle down and “obey” just a little bit longer. Need to be able to test the most vulnerable communities on a daily basis – group homes, nursing homes, high risk businesses, Latino population, inner city.
Federal stimulus money – RI received $1.5B dollars to date. Going to go a long way, but will need every penny of it. Biggest chunk is $1.2.5B for coronavirus relief fund – nursing homes, temporary low-wage workers, hospitals, home care, group homes, public safety, cities & towns, “secondary effects” (items to help the economy, such as job training, jobs, small biz, etc.). Will have a public portal for full transparency, and invite others in for engagement, consult with legislators, etc. to make sure we are “ticked and tied” on how we will spend this money.
Large summer events – May 9th will be Phase 1 – 10 or fewer. Phase 2 will be 15 or fewer. If you are planning a very large summer gathering – parade, festival, with hundreds of people, you are not going to be able to have that event in RI this summer. Prepare to make alternative plans. This will impact tourism for RI – may be some covid relief fund assistance for some.
Weddings – If you are planning a summer – June, July – wedding of more than 50 people, you are not going to be able to have that in RI this year. Outside possibility August might be able to go from 50 to 100. But can’t promise. 50 or fewer this summer ok – more than that, think about rescheduling. Venues are being flexible, according to the hospitality association.
Questions:
Masks, thermometers, sanitizer – for companies to get them off the ground – in the long run, it will be the company’s responsibility.
Will State Auditor General monitor how RI spends the money we get from the federal govt? RI will have a monthly report to the federal govt and an audit. We will have a public facing website and involvement of GA in the process.
Still expect peak to be next week? Looks like we are in a plateau with no peak, and then coming down.
People running out of money, running out of food. RIDLT ahead of any other state in how fast you are getting checks. Hang in there if you have not gotten your check. RI Food Bank is in great shape. If struggling, call 2-1-1 for help.
Newport folk and jazz festivals – how can state help them out? They will be in touch with their people – donate tickets back, etc. State will see if they can help them, too.
New hospital admissions peaked on April 16th and have trended lower since then. Stay at home order works. Seems like it is stabilizing, but it could change if we don’t maintain stay at home order.
Hazard pay for low paying staff for front line employees – other staff may actually make less. State considered what they could do and it was a choice based on budget and nursing home needs.
Summer events – parades spaced out? Governor said no. Will do everything to avoid closing down state again. Really wants schools to open in the fall. Too much of a risk.
Small arts venues? Live theater? Is there a phase when capacity is close to normal? Wait a bit. Monday will be all about Phase 1 and different industries.
Ingesting bleach question – president never said those words, Governor agreed, and she’ll retract those words, with cautions not to consider disinfectants as therapy.
Each phase timeline? 3, 6, 9, 12 mos? Longer? – It depends. If we reopen and things stay healthy, then we open quicker. If we have a treatment, that could change things. Vaccine, that could change things, etc. Seasonal increase? Second round?
Hospital fatalities and hospital discharge data reporting confusion. We added clarity to that – we list hospital deaths as hospital discharges. We use their discharge codes as “having left”. Now the data aligns. Data has been edited.
Berkshire Home – why is big increase in cases happening here? State response involves aggressive testing, etc.
RI Hospital’s statement that the surge is over – State does not have data yet to confirm that.
How will May 8th Phase 1 implementation for RI going to impact with a later, May 15th date in Massachusetts? Lots of coordination needed with bounding states.
Any guidance for hotels? Haven’t decided yet – not in phase 1.
Highly concerned about seasonal businesses. Summer staffing. Students from other countries. Communal living arrangements. Especially on Block Island and in Newport. Just the kind of thing that could get us into trouble.
ANY hope for summer events? Yes, if data changes, but doesn’t expect it.
Governor’s Press Release:
- Large events: While public health guidance around the exact number of people allowed to gather will change in the coming months, the Governor today made clear that it is highly unlikely that groups of more than 50 people will be able to gather at any point this summer. She recommended that anyone planning an event with more than 50 people through the summer cancel, postpone, or find a way to celebrate virtually instead.
- HealthSourceRI: Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for coverage as part of HealthSourceRI’s special enrollment period. However, anyone who has recently gone through a “qualifying life event,” including losing a job, will always have a 60 day window from the date of the qualifying event in which they can seek new coverage. To learn more, go to HealthSourceRI.com.