PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo will end a three-week “pause” of the state’s recovery plans after she said it helped slow the spread of the coronavirus.
During the pause, bars, gyms, casinos and theaters were closed and restaurants had to limit indoor dining to a third of their normal capacity. Those restrictions will be eased beginning Monday, though many of the same now-familiar restrictions will remain in place. Restaurants, for instance, will be limited to 50% indoor capacity.
Raimondo said the pause succeeded in slowing the rise in cases and hospitalizations, noting that the state’s daily percentage of positive COVID tests has dropped to 4.4% from 10% just a few weeks ago.
Still, Raimondo urged Rhode Islanders to remain cautious, especially as the holidays approach and residents are tempted to travel or socialize outside their household.
“That’s a hard message for me to deliver,” Raimondo, a Democrat, said Friday. “We’re all going to have to reinvent our family traditions… I’m asking you to please celebrate with the people that you live with.”
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