THAT, WE WILL GET STARTED WITH
QUESTIONS.
GOOD AFTERNOON.
WE WILL BEGIN WITH MICHAEL.
HE NOTES THAT RHODE ISLAND
SUCCESSFULLY FLATTEN THE CURVE
TO APPOINT WHERE HOSPITAL
--
HOSPITALIZATIONS AND FATALITIES
HAVE PLATEAUED.
THE SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE OF
DEATHS IS A STEADY 10-15 PER DAY
FOR OVER THREE WEEKS, WHICH IS
OBVIOUSLY NOT SUSTAINABLE
INDEFINITELY.
GOV. RAIMONDO:
A FEW THINGS.
HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE DOWN.
THEY ARE COMING DOWN,
THANKFULLY.
SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TO ACCOUNT
ALSO FOR THE NUMBER OF TESTS,
WHICH IS WHY YESTERDAY I
REFERENCED THE PERCENT POSITIVE.
A FEW WEEKS AGO OUR PERCENT
POSITIVE OF THE NUMBER OF TEST
WE HAVE DONE, OUR PERCENT
POSITIVE IS MUCH HIGHER THAN IT
IS TODAY.
HAVING SAID THAT, YOU ARE RIGHT.
WE ARE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS.
WE HAVE NOT ROUNDED THE CURVE
AND STARTED TO COME DOWN, AS YOU
SAY.
SO, WHAT IS OUR PLAN?
OUR PLAN IS TO GO SLOW.
OUR PLAN IS SOCIAL GATHERINGS
LIMITED TO FIVE, WEARING YOUR
MASKS, DOING EVERYTHING WE HAVE
LEARNED HOW TO DO.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHY,
YOU PUT
YOUR FINGERS ON EXACTLY WHY I AM
IMPLORING THE PEOPLE OF RHODE
ISLAND NOT TO GO TOO FAST IN
THIS FIRST PHASE.
THE RISK OF GOING TOO FAST IN
THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS IS
ENORMOUS.
WE RISK GOING BACKWARDS.
THE PLAN IS TO GO SLOW AND
STEADY, TO TEST OUR SYSTEMS.
YOU JUST HEARD FROM DR.
ALEXANDER SCOTT, THAT IS GOING
TO HAPPEN.
WE WILL SEE AT -- SEE
OUTBREAKS.
WE CAN'T REALLY STOP THAT FROM
HAPPENING.
WHAT WE CAN DO, IS MAKE SURE OUR
SYSTEM IS STRONG ENOUGH TO GET
THERE, TEST PEOPLE, GET PEOPLE
INTO ISOLATION.
ANYWAY, I FEEL ABSOLUTELY
CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN LIFT THE
STAY.
WE ARE STILL BUILDING OUR
SYSTEMS.
HAVEN'T ROUNDED THE CURVE.
I AM ASKING YOU TO GO SLOW AND
FOLLOW THE RULES.
IF PEOPLE CAN'T PAY UTILITY
BILLS FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS?
-- TWO
MONTHS, ARE THOSE BILLS
CARRIED OVER OR WILL THEY BE
FORGIVEN?
GOV. RAIMONDO: THEY WILL BE
CARRIED OVER.
UNLESS THEY MAKE FURTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
AS OF NOW, IT IS ONLY INTENDED
TO GIVE YOU RELIEF, BUT THAT
COULD CHANGE.
BUT PAUL PARKER ASKS, WHAT HAS
BEEN THE SURVIVAL RATE OF
COVID-19 PATIENTS ON
VENTILATORS?
DR. ALEXANDER-SCOTT: THAT IS AN
EXCELLENT QUESTION.
WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE WHO AREN'T
IN THE HOSPITAL AND THOSE WHO
ARE IN THE ICU AND VENTILATED
,
AUTOMATICALLY HAVE A HIGHER RISK
PROFILE THAT LED THEM TO BE
THERE AND THAT, UNFORTUNATELY,
DOES INCREASE THE RISK OF PEOPLE
WHO AREN'T ABLE TO RECOVER.
BUT OUR FIRST
CASE IN RHODE
ISLAND DID GET HOSPITALIZED, WAS
IN THE ICU, WAS VENTILATED
, AND
DID RECOVER.
IT DEFINITELY IS POSSIBLE.
I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK THROUGH THE
NUMBERS TO GET YOU AN EXACT
AMOUNT.
OUR DATA TEAM DOES A PHENOMENAL
JOB.
IT WILL TAKE TIME, BUT I WANTED
TO GIVE THAT OVERALL RESPONSE.
OUR NEXT QUESTION IS ALSO FOR
YOU.
THE AVERAGE AGE AROUND THE
PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED OF COVID-19
IN MASSACHUSETTS AS OF WEDNESDAY
WAS 82.
IT IS THE AVERAGE AGE OF PEOPLE
WHO HAVE DIED IN RHODE ISLAND?
HIGHER OR LOWER?
DR. ALEXANDER-SCOTT: I CAN GIVE
NUMBERS.
IT IS AROUND THE SAME AMOUNT.
24% OF THE PEOPLE WHO
UNFORTUNATELY PASSED AWAY WERE
BETWEEN 70 AND 79.
32% WERE BETWEEN 80 AND 89 YEARS
OF AGE.
23% WERE BETWEEN 90 AND 99 YEARS
OF AGE.
THAT IS THE LARGEST PROPORTION
OF ALL PEOPLE WHO HAVE SADLY
PASSED ON.
OUR NEXT QUESTION IS FROM
RICHARD.
THE RHODE ISLAND INNOVATES 2.0
STRATEGY RELEASED IN JANUARY, A
REPORT ON RHODE ISLAND'S FUTURE
INNOVATION ECONOMY -- ECONOMY
DID NOT INCLUDE STRATEGIES FOR
INVESTMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH
INFRASTRUCTURE.
HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC CHANGED
YOUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT SUCH
INVESTMENTS TO SPUR THE FUTURE
OF RHODE ISLAND'S ECONOMY.
GOV. RAIMONDO: IT IS A FANTASTIC
QUESTION.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN WHEN
I SAY WE ARE GOING TO COME OUT
OF IT STRONGER AND WHEN WE WENT
INTO IT.
AS A PROCESS OF STANDING UP OUR
ECONOMY, AGAIN, WE CANNOT JUST
LOOK TO DO IT EXACTLY THE WAY IT
WAS.
OBVIOUSLY, WE NEED TO BE MORE
RESILIENT.
WE NEED TO BE MORE
TECHNOLOGY-ENABLE.
WE NEED TO BE MORE DIGITALLY
LITERATE.
WE NEED TO INVEST IN PUBLIC
HEALTH.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE
HAS ACCESS TO PUBLIC HEALTH.
WE NEED TO REDUCE OUR DEPENDENCY
ON COMMUNAL LIVING SETTINGS FOR
THOSE WHO ARE SICK.
WE NEED TO TRAIN PEOPLE.
THE SADDEST PART ABOUT THIS IS
THAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HARDEST
HIT ARE THOSE WHO ARE THE LOWEST
SKILLED AND THE LOWEST PAID.
VERY SADLY, I WORRY SOME OF
THOSE JOBS MIGHT NOT COME BACK.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT CERTAIN
SECTORS.
WE NEED TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT
MAKING INVESTMENTS IN OUR HEALTH
CARE, IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, IN
OUR JOB TRAINING SO THAT WE CAN
GET EVERYBODY BACK TO WORK AND
WE HAVE A STRONGER SYSTEM ON THE
OTHER CITED FOR.
-- OTHER SIDE OF IT.
TO WHAT EXTENT
IS THERE ANY
SIGN OF ADVERSE, LONG-TERM
HEALTH CONSEQUENCES FOR THE
RHODE ISLANDERS WHO HAVE
RECOVERED FROM THE VIRUS?
DR. ALEXANDER-SCOTT: YOU'RE
STILL LEARNING.
AS OF NOW, WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANY
PARTICULAR TRENDS STANDOUT IN
TERMS OF HEALTH CONSEQUENCES
.
BUT, NATIONALLY AND
INTERNATIONALLY WE ARE ALL GOING
TO LEARN TOGETHER, PARTICULARLY
WITH THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE
AHEAD OF US IN TERMS OF
RECOVERY.
IN ENABLE TO SEE HOW PEOPLE ARE
DOING FOR THE LONG TERM.
WE HOPE THAT IT WILL BE SIMILAR
TO WHAT WE SEE WITH OTHER
VIRUSES, SIMILAR TO CORONAVIRUS.
WHERE, IN THE LONG TERM, PEOPLE
ULTIMATELY DO WELL.
OUR LAST QUESTION FOR THIS
SATURDAY BRIEFING IS FROM NICK
OF ABC SIX NEWS.
WELL THOSE WHO HAVE UNDERLYING
MEDICAL CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO
GO BACK TO WORK ONCE THEIR PLACE
OF BUSINESS REOPENS?
IF EXCEPTIONS WILL BE
ENFORCED,
WILL THOSE INDIVIDUALS STILL BE
ELIGIBLE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT FITS
AND WILL THIS INCLUDE GIG
ECONOMY WORKERS?
GOV. RAIMONDO: I APOLOGIZE.
YES.
AND WELL IN
SECTIONS -- WILL
EXCEPTIONS BE ENFORCED?
SO, HERE'S HOW TO THINK ABOUT
IT.
FOLKS
WHO HAVE SYMPTOMS OF ANY
KIND WHO ARE SICK SHOULD NOT BE
ALLOWED INTO A WORKPLACE.
THAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF
THE EMPLOYER AND THE EMPLOYEE,
THE EMPLOYER, IN ORDER TO REOPEN
-- ANY KIND OF BUSINESS -- HAS
TO HAVE A SCREENING ABILITY SO
THAT NOBODY COMES INTO THE
OFFICE OR FACTORY FLOOR OR STORE
SICK.
FEVER, ACHES AND PAINS,
ETC. FOR
THOSE FOLKS AND A HIGHER RISK
CATEGORY, MAYBE OLDER
WORKERS,
MAY THOSE WITH AN UNDERLYING
HEALTH CONDITION, THEY'RE GOING
TO HAVE TO WORK THAT OUT WITH
THEIR EMPLOYER.
EMPLOYERS SHOULD TAKE THAT INTO
ACCOUNT AND MAKE EXTRA
ACCOMMODATIONS AS NECESSARY IN
ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS
CAN CONTINUE TO WORK AND EARN
INCOME, BUT ALSO THAT THEY ARE
PROTECTED.
THERE SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY NO
DISCRIMINATION, AND WE ARE GOING
TO HAVE OUR EYE ON THAT.
WE ARE IN CLOSE TOUCH WITH THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL.
THIS IS A TIME FOR THE WHOLE
COUNTRY, WE NEED TO TAKE EXTRA
CARE FOR THOSE WITH UNDERLYING
HEALTH CONDITIONS AND OLDER
WORKERS.
THEY CANNOT BE DISCRIMINATED
AGAINST.
THAT IS GOING TO TAKE SOME
FIGURING OUT ABOUT HOW THEY CAN
BE CARED FOR BUT NOT
DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.
HE GIG ECONOMY WORKERS, THAT
--
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE UNDER THE
PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE,
JUST ALL DRIVEN BY -- WHICH IS
ALL DRIVEN BY THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.
IT WILL BE UP TO CONGRESS IF AND
HOW LONG THAT INITIATIVE WILL
LAST.
WE ARE GOING TO
BE ADVOCATING
THAT THEY CONTINUE TO TAKE CARE
OF, FRANKLY ON A PERMANENT BASIS
I WOULD SAY, GIG ECONOMY
WORKERS, BECAUSE THEY OUGHT TO