Grim numbers and grimmer
to come
By Will Collette
At Tuesday’s daily pandemic briefing Gov. Gina Raimondo addressed the stats in a new University of Washington report. According to the Boston Globe, that report predicts 265 COVID-19 related deaths by June 10. They also set April 20 as Rhode Island’s peak.
Gov. Raimondo said the
state’s modelling shows “that peak is farther out” than April 20 as well as a
higher death toll.
Of course these
projections are just that. Circumstances beyond our control as well as things
we CAN control (like strictly adhering to social distancing coupled with the
feds doing their jobs to supply test kits and medical equipment) can change
those numbers.
The University of
Washington report predicts a nationwide peak on April 16 and more than 90,000
dead by June.
In today’s
news briefing, the Governor reiterated her warning that the UW study may be
too optimistic as she announced two more deaths, bringing our current total to
10.
Help wanted
Governor Raimondo is also asking retired doctors, nurses and health care workers to step up. In New York, tens of thousands of retirees have answered a similar call from Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Help wanted
Governor Raimondo is also asking retired doctors, nurses and health care workers to step up. In New York, tens of thousands of retirees have answered a similar call from Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Over 100,000 Rhode Islanders are out of work
Before the pandemic, just under 20,000 were out of work. But as COVID-19 starts to bite hard on our economy, almost 90,000 more workers have filed for benefits.
That
number is going to climb. There will be a big spike in claims when the new
federal Pandemic Unemployment program for the self-employed, small businesses,
independent contractors, etc. starts up. I noted in Short Takes #6 that DLT is encouraging workers who normally are not
eligible for unemployment insurance to sign up for their e-mail list to get
word on when to apply.
Today,
according
to the marketing survey firm WalletHub, Rhode Island’s economy is ranked
the second highest “most vulnerable” to the economic effects of COVID-19. The
only state that is deemed more vulnerable is #1 ranked Louisiana.
Well,
we’ve been high on lists like that before.
Charlestown closes town beaches and parks
After
yesterday’s
announcement by Gov. Raimondo, Charlestown issued an order today closing
Charlestown’s beaches and parks though town conservation areas are, at present,
not closed. You can see
this notice on the town’s unofficial/official CCA website.
Town
Administrator Mark Stankiewicz e-mailed me a copy earlier today.
The
CCA also buried the March 28 piece
they had on their website that promoted active use of town’s open spaces.
It
would be nice to see the town’s
official website feature all COVID-related Charlestown official news
rather than see that function delegated to the CCA. After all, town hall employees are
expected to come in to work every day with no option other than to use personal
leave. Forget about working from home.
Since
town hall is closed to residents, perhaps the website could get more attention.
Re-open Obamacare enrollment
As
millions lose their jobs due to COVID-19, many are also losing their health
insurance. It’s hard to think of a worst time to be uninsured than during a
death-dealing pandemic.
Trump
had been asked to re-start HealthCare.gov and to allow the newly unemployed to
get health care under the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare). Naturally,
the Trump Administration refused to re-open enrollment. They say they are “exploring
other options”
Instead,
Trump said last week that he
is totally behind a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general to
completely abolish Obamacare.
Scott
MacKay of Rhode Island’s The Public’s Radio tweeted that Sen. Jack Reed called on
Trump to reopen Obamacare enrollment, noting that before the pandemic we had 28
million uncovered Americans.
Rhode Island checks won’t bounce
RI
General Treasurer Seth
Magaziner has secured a $150 million line of credit from Bank of America to
make sure the state can pay its bills. The state has drawn $25 million on that
The
Pandemic Crash has drastically cut state revenue making it likely the state
would run out of money within weeks.