Hello friend,
We’ve asked a lot of Rhode Island’s small businesses over the last two months, and I am eternally grateful for the way that they have protected the health of their fellow Rhode Islanders at great personal sacrifice. I’m proud that we’ve been able to help almost 300 small business through our business helpline, but I also know we need to do more to ensure that every small business has the tools it needs to adapt to the realities of COVID-19.
Today, I’m announcing that Rhode Island small businesses can apply to receive facemasks, disinfectant, and for those that need them, laptops to enable remote work.
Starting next week, we will be distributing 500,000 masks,as well as much-needed disinfectant solution through our state’s chambers of commerce and industry associations. These supplies will be available to small businesses with 50 or fewer employees.Businesses will be able to pick up a month’s supply of face coverings as well as a voucher for a gallon of disinfectant that can be purchased from any RI Ocean State Job Lot store.
To obtain these supplies, businesses must show they’ve completed their COVID-19 control plan, which details what they will do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their businesses. As we move towards getting Rhode Islanders back to work, these supplies will help to get folks back on their feet.
I’m also proud to announce that thanks to a generous donation from the Microsoft Corporation, we have 500 laptops available for Rhode Island small businesses with fewer than 25 employees.This will help these small businesses make improvements to their operations, increase their revenue, or to promote additional opportunities for remote work. We will prioritize small businesses that are owned by the communities who have been hardest hit by this crisis: people of color, women, veterans or low and moderate income individuals. Applications are available on CommerceRI.com in both English and Spanish and are due on May 26.
Of course, in order for us to begin reopening Rhode Island’s businesses, we need to continue expanding our testing capacity. In the past week, we’ve ramped-up symptomatic testing capacity in our hardest hit communities. We launched a new site at the Rhode Island Free Clinic in Providence and tripled our testing capacity in Woonsocket.
We are still seeing high positivity rates in many of these communities which means two things: we need to continue expanding our capacity and we need to do a better job of spreading the word and encouraging people to get tested. Anyone can call The Point, our multilingual support hotline, to get connected with information and resources about quarantine and isolation. Call them 24/7 at 401-462-4444.
If you have symptoms, please get tested. I want you to know that testing is safe and secure and that supports are available for you and your family in the event that you do have the coronavirus.
We’re all in this together.
-Gina Raimondo
Governor
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