McKee Finds Rhode Island at Crossroads in Battle Against Coronavirus
Wednesday, March 03, 2021
Rhode Island is at the crossroads in the battle against the coronavirus.
New Governor Dan McKee faces critical decisions on when to reopen the economy and how to manage the growing concerns about a third wave of infection.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAfter dropping precipitately since early January, cases have ticked up over week over week. The new variants are a real threat to the progress made nationally and in Rhode Island. Hospitalizations have fallen and new cases have decreased, but there may be early indications that cases may begin to rise again.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said about 70,000 new cases a day had been recorded last week - "a very high number." There were nearly 2,000 deaths a day in the same period, she added.
"Please hear me clearly: at this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained," Walensky said. "These variants are a very real threat to our people and our progress."
Dr. Michael Fine warns that McKee needs to be vigilant. This comes as some tourism and hospitality industry members are calling for restrictions to be loosened. And, Texas and Mississippi are removing all restrictions on business and eliminating mask requirements. Closer to RI, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is significantly lifting restrictions.
“What you heard from the CDC is exactly right -- this is not the time to open anything. If anything, this there's a moment where if we got tighter and we really got to work, really hard for a couple of weeks and really got the virus under control and really under control that means making sure that we're getting as many people vaccinated as we can making sure that we're testing every single person who's not working in their homes and staying home anybody who's in contact with the public, ” said Dr.Fine, the former RI Director of Health.
"If we could start building infrastructure and start testing all those people twice a week and moving anybody who's positive into quarantine into isolation and quarantining contacts -- this is the moment where we could actually get control. You've heard me be cynical about testing but this is the moment we need a sophisticated approach to testing combined with good social distancing and better masking,” added Fine.
Rhode Island's testing has plummeted in recent weeks creating a void in tracking data.
{image_2}Our Chance to Have a Summer -- Fighting Off the P.1. Threat
While the variants represent a significant risk both from a health standpoint, the Brazilian variant is creating great concern — the P.1 is 1.4 to 2.2 times more contagious than versions of the virus previously found in Brazil, and 25% to 61% more capable of reinfecting people who had been infected by an earlier strain, according to a study released Tuesday.
“If we did that what we need to do, I think we can create an economy that leads the country and if we don't -- we're going to have another messy summer,” said Fine.
Dale Venturini, President of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association is calling for the state to develop a comprehensive program to support the industry.
“The roll-out of significant funding and grant programs in the last quarter of 2020 was a huge task for the state and there are some lessons learned about each of the programs that were implemented,” said Venturini. “Prioritizing the programs that should be renewed or creating new ones to have more direct impact for the hardest hit small businesses is imperative. A dedicated revenue stream to support these initiatives will aid considerably, as would identification of statewide resources to produce and distribute supplies to help with reopening our economy.”
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