HER CORONAVIRUS UPDATE.
MONDAY AT
1:00 I WOULD
STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO TUNE
IN IF YOU CAN.
TODAY, FRIDAY
, MONDAY IN
ANTICIPATION OF PHASE THREE AND
YOU ARE SEEING CHANGES IN THE
VIRUS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
I WILL ADDRESS THAT TODAY AND
CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THAT.
WE ARE IN A GOOD PLACE IN RHODE
ISLAND AS IT RELATES TO THE
VIRUS, BUT AS A COUNTRY THIS IS
A PICTURE THAT IS CHANGING AND
EVOLVING EVERY DAY.
I AM ASKING YOU TO STAY
INFORMED.
I WOULD LIKE YOU TO TUNE IN AT
1:00 IF YOU CAN.
IF YOU CATCH IT LATER, THAT IS
FINE.
PLEASE STAY INFORMED.
IT IS THE BEST WAY TO KEEP YOUR
SAFE.
IF YOU CANNOT TUNE IN, I KNOW
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BACK TO
WORK, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO
SIGN UP FOR DAILY EMAILS.
YOU CAN GO TO
GOVERNOR.RI.GOV
AND SIGN UP FOR THE EMAILS.
WE WILL SEND YOU A MAIL EVERY
DAY.
IT IS A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO
STAY INFORMED.
I AM ASKING YOU TO STAY
INFORMED.
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
ASKING
WHAT IS RHODE ISLAND DOING SO
WELL?
I THINK IT IS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE
INFORMED AND FOLLOWING THE
RULES.
I WOULD ASK YOU TO CONTINUE TO
DO THAT.
I AM ALSO GOING TO BE SCALING
BACK THE FREQUENCY OF THESE
PRESS CONFERENCES.
WE ARE GOING TO GET TO A PLACE
SOON WHERE IT WILL BE ONE DAY A
WEEK.
IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT YOU FIND
A WAY TO STAY INFORMED WHICH IS
WHY I AM STRONGLY ENCOURAGING
YOU TO SIGN UP FOR THE EMAIL.
AS WE ALWAYS DO IN OUR TIME
TOGETHER WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN
WITH THE DATA WHICH CONTINUES,
THANKFULLY, TO BE A GOOD NEWS
STORY.
PLEASE PUT THE DATA ON THE
SCREEN.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE TREND IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTION.
WE HAVE ANOTHER 73
CASES TO
REPORT TODAY.
VERY SADLY ANOTHER
6 DEATHS.
WE WATCH THIS EVERY DAY.
WE WATCH THE DATA FOR THE STATE,
THE COMMUNITIES, AREAS WE ARE
WORRIED ABOUT, AND NOW WE ARE
PARTICULARLY WATCHING IT CLOSELY
AS WE THINK ABOUT WHETHER WE ARE
READY TO OPEN.
THE DATA YOU SEE SHOULD MAKE YOU
FEEL CONFIDENT THAT, IN RHODE
ISLAND, WE ARE DEALING WELL WITH
THE VIRUS AND I AM ENCOURAGED.
TODAY
I WANT TO HAVE A SERIOUS
CONVERSATION WITH THE PEOPLE OF
RHODE ISLAND BECAUSE NOT EVERY
STATE IS IN THE SITUATION WE ARE
IN.
IF WE GET
COMPLACENT, WE ARE
GOING TO BE BACK IN MS.
WE ARE GOING TO BE BACK WHERE WE
WERE WHEN WE STARTED.
I DO SEE SIGNS WE ARE GETTING
COMPLACENT.
PEOPLE REFUSING TO WEAR A MASK,
BUSINESSES OPENLY VIOLATING THE
RULE.
THE VAST MAJORITY ARE DOING
EXACTLY WHAT IS REQUIRED.
CROWDS ON THE BEACH WHEN WE ASK
YOU TO DISPERSE, BEING INPATIENT
OR RUDE.
I WANT TO BE CRYSTAL CLEAR ABOUT
THIS.
THIS IS ABOUT
SCIENCE, NOT
POLITICS, NOT
ABOUT WHAT
YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO, WHAT IS
THE MOST CONVENIENT THING TO DO.
THIS IS JUST ABOUT THE FACTS.
RHODE ISLAND RIGHT
NOW IS IN A
VERY GOOD PLACE AROUND
CONTROLLING THIS VIRUS AND
BECAUSE OF THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING
BACK TO WORK, WE ARE GOING TO
OPEN SCHOOL IN THE FALL, OF HER
KIDS GET TO GO TO CAMP, WE GET
TO GO TO THE BEACH.
THAT IS ALL GOOD.
AS SURE AS I AM STANDING
HERE IF
WE START TO BREAK THE RULES, WE
WILL HAVE TO UNWIND THAT
PROGRESS AND CLOSE OFF SOME OF
OUR ECONOMY, OUR RECREATION, AND
SOME OF WHAT WE LOVE DOING.
THERE IS NO REASON THAT SHOULD
HAPPEN.
NO REASON FOR IT.
WE SHOULD NEVER AGAIN HAVE TO DO
THAT.
IF WE WEAR A MASK, WASH HANDS,
GET TESTED, STAY HOME AND SICK,
AND FOLLOW THE RULES.
YOU MIGHT NOT AGREE WITH THAT.
LET ME JUST TELL YOU ABOUT SOME
OF THE STATISTICS OF WHAT IS
HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY AND
HOW QUICKLY OUR FORTUNE COULD
CHANGE IF WE START TO BREAK THE
RULES.
RIGHT NOW, 33
STATES HAVE A
ROLLING AVERAGE OF NEW CASES
THAT ARE HIGHER THAN LAST WEEK.
THAT IS A BAD TREND.
THAT MEANS THEY ARE HEADED IN
THE WRONG DIRECTION.
IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE
CASE COUNT BECAUSE DIFFERENT
STATES TEST DIFFERENT LEVELS,
LET US LOOK AT HOSPITALIZATIONS
WHICH YOU CANNOT ARGUE WITH.
PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE
THEY HAVE THE VIRUS.
RIGHT NOW SEVEN STATES ARE
REPORTING NEW ALL-TIME
HIGHS OF
HOSPITALIZATIONS.
THAT MEANS HIGHER THAN TWO
MONTHS AGO.
ARIZONA, ARKANSAS,
CALIFORNIA,
NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA,
TENNESSEE AND TEXAS.
ARIZONA HAD TO, AGAIN,
CANCEL
ELECTIVE SURGERIES AND
NONCRITICAL PROCEDURES LAST WEEK
TO MAKE ROOM IN THE HOSPITALS
FOR THE EXTRA SURGE IN COVID-19
PATIENTS.
IN TWO WEEKS TEXAS SAW A
DOUBLING IN HOSPITALIZATIONS.
THEY WENT
FROM 1800
HOSPITALIZATIONS TO
OVER 3200.
THAT STARTED JUNE 5TH.
THE WEEK READ BEFORE THAT TEXAS
LOOKED LIKE IT WAS IN A PLATEAU.
PLATEAU IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AND
THINGS LOOKED GOOD.
NOW THE GOVERNOR IS OUT THERE
ASKING PEOPLE TO STAY-AT-HOME.
HOME IS THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE.
IN THREE WEEKS
ARIZONA SO I
DOUBLING OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
IN HOSPITALS FROM 1100
TO OVER
2200.
BEFORE THAT, A PLATEAU IN
ARIZONA.
WHY AM I SAYING THIS?
THIS CAN CHANGE QUICKLY.
THESE
STATES WERE IN A PLATEAU
AND WITHIN A MATTER OF WEEKS
THEY ARE SEEING THEIR HOSPITALS
FILLED WITH COVID PATIENTS.
I DO NOT WANT THAT TO BS.
I DON'T WANT TO BE BACK UP HERE
TELLING YOU THE SAFEST PLACE TO
BE IS IN YOUR HOME.
THERE IS NO REASON WE SHOULD
HAVE TO DO THAT.
IF WE GET COMPLACENT, IF WE
THINK WE KNOW BETTER, IF WE WANT
TO DENY THE FACTS, IF WE WANT TO
OUTRUN THE VIRUS, THAT IS WHERE
WE ARE GOING TO BE AND I THINK
THAT WOULD BE HORRIBLE BECAUSE
THERE ARE LIVELIHOODS AND JOBS
ON THE LINE.
ALSO, THE VAST MAJORITY OF RHODE
ISLANDERS HAVE DONE EXACTLY THE
RIGHT THING AND THEY SHOULD BE
REWARDED FOR THEIR COMPLIANCE
AND NOT PUNISHED BECAUSE OF THE
MINORITY THAT REFUSES TO
OWN
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY AND DO THE
RIGHT THING.
MANY OF YOU MAY
ASK, WHY IS THIS
HAPPENING IN THE OTHER STATES?
I HAVE BEEN HONEST WITH YOU FROM
THE MINUTE THE STARTED SO I WILL
BE HONEST NOW.
WE ARE NOT SURE.
NO ONE REALLY KNOWS, BUT HERE IS
WHAT I DO NOW.
11 OUT OF 15
STATES INCLUDING
OUR OWN WHERE MASK WEARING IS
MANDATED HAVE SEEN CONTINUED
DECLINE IN CASES.
THAT IS JUST A FACT.
STATES THAT HAVE A MANDATE
AROUND MASK WEARING AND HIGHER
COMPLIANCE OF MASK WEARING ARE
DOING BETTER AND CONTINUE TO SEE
DECLINE IN CASES, INCLUDING OUR
OWN STATE.
WE ALSO KNOW, BECAUSE WE LOOK AT
THIS EVERY DAY, THERE IS A
CORRELATION BETWEEN THE AMOUNT
OF TESTING,
THE AVAILABILITY OF
TESTING, AND THE AMOUNT OF
CONTACT TRACING AND HOW THE
VIRUS IS PROGRESSING.
IN RHODE ISLAND
WE HAVE A VERY
AGGRESSIVE TESTING APPROACH, THE
MOST AGGRESSIVE IN AMERICA, AND
WE ARE GOING TO KEEP IT THAT
WAY.
IN FACT, WE ARE GOING TO DO MORE
TESTING.
WE ALSO HAVE A DISCIPLINED
CONTRACT TRACING EFFORT.
HOW DO YOU KNOW THE CONTACT
TRACING IS WORKING?
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING.
WE HAVE NOT HAD A SURGE OR
OUTBREAK WE CANNOT CONTROL.
I WOULD JUST ASK EVERYONE OUT
THERE AGAIN IF YOU HAVE NOT
DOWNLOADED THE CRUSH COVID
RI
APP, NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO DO
IT.
I AM ASKING EVERYONE TO DO IT.
WE DO NOT WANT TO WIND UP IN A
MESS AGAIN.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN GETTING LAZY
WITH YOUR CONTACT TRACING
NOTEBOOK, I AM ASKING
YOU TO
BUCKLE DOWN, MYSELF INCLUDED, MY
FAMILY INCLUDED, AND TAKE A
MINUTE EVERY NIGHT TO WRITE DOWN
WHO YOU ARE WITH.
IF YOU GET SICK, WE NEED THAT
NOTEBOOK AND IMMEDIATELY CONTACT
EVERYONE YOU HAVE BEEN IN
CONTACT WITH THE WEEK BEFORE.
THAT IS THE WAY TO FIGHT THIS
VIRUS.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A WINNING
FORMULA AND I AM ASKING YOU, THE
PEOPLE OF RHODE ISLAND, TO COME
TOGETHER AND STICK WITH THE
FORMULA SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO
OPEN AND DO SO SAFELY.
I WILL TELL
YOU MANY OTHER
STATES ARE BEGINNING TO HALT
ECONOMICALLY REOPENING.
I AM
NOT THERE WITH RHODE ISLAND
BECAUSE WE CONTINUE TO SEE GOOD
NUMBERS, BUT IT IS REALLY
EYE-OPENING TO LOOK AT HOW
QUICKLY THIS PICTURE CAN CHANGE.
I THINK WE NEED TO APPROACH THIS
VIRUS WITH A SENSE OF HUMILITY
AND RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS
HERE
AND WE NEED TO FOLLOW THE RULES
SO IT DOES NOT OVERTAKE US.
I AM PUTTING THAT OUT
THERE AND
ASKING RHODE ISLAND TO CONTINUE,
EVEN THOUGH IT IS SUMMER AND WE
ARE OUTSIDE AND CASES ARE
REDUCED, IT IS MORE IMPORTANT
THAN EVER TO FOLLOW THESE RULES.