The Department of Health has announced the opening of rapid testing sites around the state for asymptomatic individuals, by appointment only, including the Rhode Island Convention Center ticket booth in downtown Providence. (For more sites go to the RIDOH Covid portal.) All state-run sites will be closed Saturday, December 25. In advance of holiday gatherings …
The Sunday New York Times reports today on “How Rhode Island Fell to the Coronavirus” starting from the early decisions that could have made a difference. Cases climbed steadily until early December, when Rhode Island earned the dubious distinction of having more cases and deaths per 100,000 people than any other state in the country. …
From the Office of the Governor comes another supplemental declaration regarding the Revised Phase III reopening, effective today, Sunday, November 8. The document covers international and domestic travel restrictions as well as the following (voluntary) Stay-at-Home advisory. Effective Sunday, November 8th, all Rhode Island residents are advised to stay home from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 …
Governor Raimondo has announced that the state will be hiring 100 new people to assist with the Department of Health’s contact tracing system. Recent hiring has brought the the full-time tracing team up to 300 people. The state has contracted with Knowledge Services to run the hiring, but you will work on-site at the Department …
Brown University has announced the launch of Brown Takes Care, an initiative aimed at providing guidance to its incoming students regarding Covid-19 that “. . . will directly engage students, faculty and staff as storytellers and influencers to promote essential health practices to fight COVID-19, both on campus and in the greater Providence community.” Storytelling?! …
The state has opened a new drive-up testing site downtown in the Convention Center parking garage . . . rain or shine. The site can not accommodate large vehicles like trailers and RVs. You must make an appointment. The ProJo reports: The site will replace the Rhode Island College testing site, which did its last …
We keep looking back to the 1918 flu for insights into our present situation, but prior to that catastrophe, public health officials had been struggling with the deadly bacterial contagion tuberculosis for many decades. And it was two female doctors right here in Providence, co-founders of the Providence League for the Suppression of Tuberculosis, who …
The Governor has announced the third phase of the state’s gradual reopening plan; it includes updates on restaurants, team sports, as well as an alert on people traveling here from out-of-state. Let’s not get too overconfident here, but only two states are reporting a decline in new coronavirus cases: Connecticut and Rhode Island! Nice to …
Nibbles gets it. In a nutshell: My mask protects you. Your mask protects me. And according to a new report from Reuters: . . . research, led by scientists at the Britain’s Cambridge and Greenwich Universities, suggests lockdowns alone will not stop the resurgence of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but that even homemade masks can …
The Governor unveiled the state’s new Crush Covid contact-tracing app today. From the Boston Globe: The governor emphasized that Rhode Islanders will be able to enable or disable the GPS tracking feature any time they want. The data will remain on their phones and be automatically deleted in 20 days. If someone gets COVID-19, health …
Beginning Monday, May 18, restaurants may begin limited outdoor dining in addition to pick-up, delivery, and drive-through operations. The Governor has posted information and guidelines at Reopening RI. Dan McGowan writes in The Boston Globe. The restaurants will be required to take reservations ahead of time, limit tables to up to five customers, and use …
Even the ones marked “flushable.” The plumbing you save may be your own. This plea comes from the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM): In addition to causing clogs and wastewater collection system overflows, flushing wipes can also lead to sewer back-ups in basements and damage wastewater treatment equipment. Although some of these products may …
Big thanks to Providence City Councilman David A. Salvatore* for sending out a useful list of links available city services and organizations who may need your help. These are a few biggies. 1) The RI Blood Center has an urgent need for blood and platelet donors for coronavirus preparedness. (They can not test for COVID-19.) …