PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island announced 13 additional deaths from the coronavirus Friday, bringing the total number of reported deaths in the state to 202.
That’s a record for number of deaths in a single day, according to the state Department of Health, which also announced that over 430 more people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of reported cases to almost 6,700.
Of those with the virus, almost 270 are hospitalized and about 50 are on ventilators.
More than 2,830 people were tested for the virus Thursday, the most so far in a single day.
In other coronavirus-related developments in Rhode Island:
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ROOM TO PLAY
Providence officials are considering a plan to restrict traffic on some neighborhood streets to give residents more room to walk, run and ride bicycles.
Under the plan, streets in some dense parts of the city would be limited to one-way or local traffic only. Specific streets haven’t been announced.
Many residents are using sidewalks to exercise or temporarily escape shelter-in-place directives. Mayor Jorge Elorza said more space would allow more people to get outside while ensuring they can do so without spreading the virus.
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HELP FOR ARTS GROUPS
Arts organizations in Rhode Island will share in more than $840,000 in federal relief funding intended to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic.
Local arts and humanities groups have been hit hard as the outbreak has shuttered performances and art shows and forced some groups to consider layoffs or budget cuts.
Museums, libraries, historical societies, theaters and other nonprofit cultural organizations can apply for the money, according to the Rhode Island Council on the Arts and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, which will administer the grants.
A more than $2 trillion stimulus package recently approved by Congress includes $150 million for cultural organizations around the country.
“Here in Rhode Island, the livelihood of a sector that contributes over $1 billion annually to our economy is being threatened,” said Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
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