Hello friend,
GOVERNOR RAIMONDO AND DR. FAUCI
There’s a lot going on these days, and it’s easy to miss things. That’s why I wanted to put together a quick recap for you of the new announcements from the past week.
If you know someone who wants to stay up-to-date on the latest measures Rhode Island is taking to stop the spread of COVID-19, send them this link:
lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/eYMG9tf
The better we all stay informed, the better we’ll be able to keep ourselves, our families, and our friends safe from COVID-19.
SCHOOLS
For the past few weeks, Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and I have been hearing from districts that they need a little more time to operationalize their safety plans. To give them the time they need to get things right, we have decided that we will delay the start of the school year until September 14th.
As we approach the start of the school year, I know that parents, teachers, students and administrators are feeling uncertainty and anxiety about what the next few months hold. I understand that. But I want you to know that we are going to take the same approach to reopening schools that we have to every other obstacle we’ve faced during this crisis. We’re going to follow the science and the data and if we’re not confident that we are ready to safely reopen schools, we won’t.
FAUCI
I was joined by one of the most reliable and trusted public health leaders in the world, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci , to discuss the health benefits of in-person learning and the precautions that need to be in place for us to be confident in the safety of our schools. I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to ask Dr. Fauci what he thinks about our decision to push back school reopening, where we need to be on testing, and if we’re in a safe position to consider in-person learning. I also asked him some of the more than 500 questions that Rhode Islanders emailed me last weekend.
Next Thursday, for our weekly Facebook Live forum, I’ll be joined by Jennifer W. Jencks, PhD, LICSW, Director of the Access Center at Bradley Hospital and Assistant Director of Lifespan Pediatric Behavioral Health Emergency Services. I’ll also be joined by Barbara Austin, LICSW, Bradley Access Center Supervisor. Our conversation will focus on how we can support students’ mental health and well-being as they return to school this fall. If you have a question you’d like me to ask during the Zoom, please respond to this email with it.
CONTACT TRACING
I want to revisit the three major rules of contact tracing:
Keep your contact tracing journal. Take one minute every day to write down the names of everyone you saw that day.
Make sure you write down the names and phone numbers of everyone you have over. If someone tests positive and says they were at your house, the contact tracers’ first call will be to you, and they’ll need to know the names and numbers of everyone who was there.
If you get called by the contact tracers, please answer the phone and provide your information. I know people may be hesitant to provide information over the phone, but I want to assure you that the no personally identifiable information is stored in the system, and all the information you provide is protected by the strictest privacy standards under HIPAA.
I hope you find this recap helpful. It’s so important that everyone stay engaged and informed so that we can all stay safe and healthy. I’ll be back on TV with more updates this Wednesday at 1 p.m.
We’re all in this together.
-Gina Raimondo
Governor
P.S.: Information is our greatest weapon in the fight against COVID-19, If you or someone you know wants to sign up to receive these emails, you can use this link