7 Major Coronavirus Developments — Social Distancing Violations Outside Elorza’s Office — April 7
GoLocalProv News Team
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — Social Distancing Violations Outside Elorza’s Office — April 7
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo said on Monday she is refusing to take enforcement actions against those who violate social distancing restrictions. Despite her repeated pleas to adhere to the emergency orders, in Providence, there are endless examples of violations.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTOn Monday, dozens of men and women could be seen gathering in groups directly outside the second-floor office window of Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza’s office in Kennedy Plaza.
“Staff and public safety officials have been closely monitoring and dispersing folks found in non-compliance. We continue to secure city property that has been closed recently with additional signage and security measures,” said Elorza’s spokeswoman Emily Crowell.
WATCH: Former RI Director of Health Dr. Michael Fine on GoLocal LIVE at 12 PM on Tuesday
On Monday, GoLocal showed multiple photos of groups of people playing basketball and more than a dozen individuals playing soccer in one Providence park.
Dr. Michael Fine, former Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health said Monday on GoLocal LIVE that more needs to be done.
“I don’t think it is adequate for any state official to get up in public and say this, that, the other thing...reaching people through every channel available to us social media forpublic information, [along with] television and radio," he said.
"I think some of this is person-to-person communication because otherwise, people don't really believe what they're hearing," Fine continued. "That's part of the challenge of the last ten years of culture -- nobody believes what anybody says anymore unless they get it from somebody they know, trust, and love."
"I think some of it is peer-to-peer. I think some of it is getting people in sound trucks and police cruisers to go through the streets broadcasting on their PA system. I think that makes it real to people in a new way I don't think we've seen that much in the United States though it's used widely in other parts of the world," said Fine.
"We have to do some enforcement, unfortunately, I just don't think there's a way to do this without this kind of enforcement. Let me tell you the U.S. has a history of public health enforcement — it goes back 150 years. This is not new. This is what always happens in an epidemic -- you've got to find a way to make real and to make it real to people," added Fine.
READ 7 Major Coronavirus Developments BELOW
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — April 7, 2020
Gig Economy Workers Now Eligible for Benefits
The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training is now able to process claims for gig workers -- everyone from Uber drivers to graphic designers to hairdressers and small business owners.
DLT writes:
This site permits a Rhode Island gig economy worker, contract worker, small business owner, worker for hire, self-employed, or other individual ineligible for regular unemployment insurance, who is out of work because of COVID-19, to apply via the Internet for COVID-19 Emergency Unemployment Insurance benefits.
If you are visually-impaired, have difficulty positioning a mouse, or experience any other problem with this site, you may file over the telephone by calling the Rhode Island Unemployment Insurance Call Center during our regular business hours at 401-243-9100. If you wish to contact the Unemployment Insurance Service Center click this link.
When Will Life Resume?
New York Times contributors have identified four factors:
- Hospitals in the state must be able to safely treat all patients requiring hospitalization, without resorting to crisis standards of care.
- A state needs to be able to test at least everyone who has symptoms.
- The state is able to conduct monitoring of confirmed cases and contacts.
- There must be a sustained reduction in cases for at least 14 days.
RI Ranks 6th for Being Most Aggressive State
WalletHub now ranks Rhode Island the 6th most aggressive state in combatting the coronavirus.
Rhode Island was formerly ranked as the most aggressive.
Rhode Island is tops in New England overall for "aggressiveness" - but 47th for the financial implications.
Numbers
1,082 Cases in Rhode Island
13,837 Cases in Massachusetts
27 Deaths in RI
260 Deaths in Massachusetts
367,650 Cases in the United States
10,943 Deaths in the United States
1,362,110 Global Cases
76,008 Global Deaths
282,596 Global Recoveries
Markets Up Monday and Tuesday
On Monday, the Dow Jones was up 1,627 points -- a 7.7% increase.
Now, foreign markets are following.
The Wall Street Journal Reports:
"Global stocks extended gains Tuesday as early indications that the spread of the coronavirus pandemic was slowing helped buoy markets.
'It’s hard to reject the view that things are improving. Markets have been celebrating this in the last couple of days,’ said Paul O’Connor, head of multiasset at Janus Henderson.
Still, markets are likely to remain turbulent, he said. 'Uncertainty really compresses investors’ time horizons and basically means that people are reacting to whatever’s in front of them at the moment,' according to Mr. O’Connor."
Grocery Store Workers Are Beginning to Die
The Washington Post is reporting:
Major supermarket chains are beginning to report their first coronavirus-related employee deaths, leading to store closures and increasing anxiety among grocery workers as the pandemic intensifies across the country.
A Trader Joe’s worker in Scarsdale, N.Y., a greeter at a Giant store in Largo, Md., and two Walmart employees from the same Chicago-area store have died of covid-19, the disease the novel coronavirus causes, in recent days, the companies confirmed Monday.
Though more than 40 states have ordered nonessential businesses to close and told residents to stay home to stem the spread of the virus, supermarkets are among the retailers that remain open. Thousands of grocery employees have continued to report to work as U.S. infections and death rates continue to climb, with many reporting long shifts and extra workloads to keep up with spiking demand. Many workers say they don’t have enough protective gear to deal with hundreds of customers a day. Dozens of grocery workers have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks.
GoLocal Coverage on Tuesday, April 7
10:00 AM Zach Levesque, Northpointe-- Discussing implications for refinancing and securing a mortgage
11:00 AM Hilary Levey Friedman - Discussing her new book, "Here She Is"
12:00 PM Dr. Micheal Fine, Former Rhode Island Director of Health
1:00 PM Governor Gina Raimondo, Briefing
