7 Major Coronavirus Developments — NEW U.S. Jobs Numbers Are Devastating — April 16, 2020
GoLocalProv News Team
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — NEW U.S. Jobs Numbers Are Devastating — April 16, 2020
According to DOL, "In the week ending April 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 5,245,000, a decrease of 1,370,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 9,000 from 6,606,000 to 6,615,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,508,500, an increase of 1,240,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,250 from 4,265,500 to 4,267,750."
Rhode Island has more than 120,000 workers and gig workers who have filed for federal and or state benefits.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe U.S. weekly numbers came in slightly lower than some of the worst-case predictions by some analysts.
WATCH: Former RI Director of Health Dr. Michael Fine on GoLocal LIVE at 12 PM on Thursday
"The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 8.2 percent for the week ending April 4, an increase of 3.1 percentage points from the previous week's unrevised rate. This marks the highest level of the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous high was 7.0 percent in May of 1975. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 4 was 11,976,000, an increase of 4,530,000 from the previous week's revised level," reports DOL.
The previous week's level was revised down by 9,000 from 7,455,000 to 7,446,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,066,250, an increase of 2,568,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 2,250 from 3,500,000 to 3,497,750.
READ 7 Major Coronavirus Developments BELOW
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — April 16, 2020
Barrington Orders Wearing of Masks
The town of Barrington has ordered residents to wear facial masks in public or face a fine.of up to $500.
This is the first city or town in Rhode Island to issue such an order and a potential fine.
PHOTO: Lilly M.Corona CC
Retail Sales Numbers Collapse
"Retail sales, a measure of purchases at stores, gasoline stations, restaurants, bars and online, fell by a seasonally adjusted 8.7% in March from a month earlier, the biggest month-over-month decline since the records began in 1992, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, "reports the Wall Street Journal."
"Sales at clothing stores plunged by more than 50%, while spending on motor vehicles, furniture, electronics and sporting goods fell by double digits."
Numbers
3,529 Cases in Rhode Island
29,918 Cases in Massachusetts
87 Deaths in RI
1,108 Deaths in Massachusetts
644,348 Cases in the United States
28,554 Deaths in the United States
2,094,839 Global Cases
135,569 Global Deaths
520,930 Global Recoveries
No Racial Data in Rhode Island
While most states are reporting how the virus is impacting racial groups, Rhode Island continues to fail to provide data on the number of infected, tested, hospitalized, or have died by race.
This obviously limits the ability to develop strategies to minimize the impacts of the disease on certain groups.
Safe Spaces
RIHavens.com is a new website that connects those in need of a safe space to quarantine with hotel rooms across the state offered at significantly discounted rates – some as low as $25 a night.
The website is part of a wider effort to meet the basic needs of all Rhode Islanders in quarantine and isolation during this pandemic.
Coronavirus May Be Most Contagious 1-2 Days Before Symptoms Appear
Science News reports that conventional thinking and early CDC guidance may be completely wrong.
People with coronavirus infections may be most contagious one to two days before they start to feel ill, new research suggests.
What’s more, considering pairs of people in which one person definitely caught the coronavirus from the other, scientists estimate that about 44 percent of COVID-19 cases may spread from person to person before symptoms appear. The results indicate that efforts to track down contacts of people with COVID-19 should include people encountered several days before a person’s symptoms appear, researchers suggested on April 15 in Nature Medicine.
GoLocal LIVE Schedule Thursday, April 16, 2019
12:00 PM Dr. Michael Fine, Former RI Director of Health
1:00 PM Governor Gina Raimondo Briefing
EDITOR'S NOTE: Raimondo does not allow Rhode Islanders to hear reporters' questions. Nearly all governors across the country and the White House allow reporters to ask questions directly and for the public to hear the questions and the responses.
