NEW: Raimondo Unveils “Potential Resurgence” Scenario, Pledges $7M for Eviction Relief
Friday, July 10, 2020
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo on Friday unveiled projections in what she said could be a “potential resurgence” scenario for coronavirus hospitalizations.
Hours after GoLocal reported, "Are There Early Warning Signs Rhode Island Could Face 2nd Coronavirus Wave This Fall?" the Raimondo administration released possible projections for an uptick in hospitalizations.
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At the state’s 1 PM press conference — marking the last Friday briefing before moving to a once-a-week press conference on Wednesdays moving forward — Raimondo also announced $7 million in funding for eviction relief.
As the U.S. has seen the highest daily totals in cases since the pandemic began, Raimondo urged Rhode Islanders to “stick to the blue line” of a projected decline in hospitalizations.
“Hospitalizations are a fact, it’s known, and undisputed. The fact is, our hospitalizations have been in steady decline,” said Raimondo.
“Why did we put this up? It’s the what-if scenarios — it’s kind of a formula,” she added of the “potential” yellow line for resurging hospitalizations. “Let’s stick to the blue line — it’s simple steps.”
Raimondo said that on Friday, there was “trouble” at the state’s beaches on Thursday.
“Beaches,” she said. “With the weekend coming up, I want to keep the beaches open. Yesterday was a hot day, and we did have some trouble at our beaches. Misquamicut Beach — we just saw too much crowding. It was high tide which means less sand — during COVID, we can’t do that.”
Addressing Evictions
“I’m worried as the $600 benefit [a week] ends at the end of July and the economic crisis drags on. This is a problem that’s going to get worse before it gets better,” said Raimondo.
“With the Rhode Island District Court and United Way, we’ll be launching [an] eviction diversion effort — the ‘safe harbor housing program,” said Raimondo, who said it’s an ‘alternative' to a traditional eviction process — to work towards a solution outside the court process.
Raimondo announced that she is putting $7 million in federal funding towards the effort, which she said should support 1,000 households — and she hopes will help closer to “1500…2000” households maintain stable housing.
“There’s an application process — renters who meet income criteria, below a certain income, and behind on their rent — you can qualify,” said Raimondo. “Tenants can apply, or landlords can apply on behalf of tenants.”
“This is a long term issue — we need a proper long term solution,” she said.
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