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PROVIDENCE — Gov. Gina Raimondo on Monday afternoon declared a state of emergency in Rhode Island as the fight against the coronavirus disease COVID-19 continues to intensify.

The declaration directs the state Emergency Management Agency to "create and establish mobile support units" and authorizes the Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Christopher P. Callahan, "to order Rhode Island National Guard members to state active duty, if necessary, to assist in the response" to the outbreak.

The Guard could be used at some point to enforce quarantines, Raimondo said, although that is not currently planned. The roughly 290 people in Rhode Island currently monitoring themselves for symptoms are doing so on a voluntary basis. More immediately, Raimondo said, the Guard will be used to help support those people, who cannot leave their homes, and possibly to staff test sites.

"We will have more arms and legs around the problem," the governor said.

Rhode Island now joins several other states — including New York, California, Washington, Florida and Oregon — where states of emergency have been declared.

Despite the sober tone of the declaration contained in the three-page Executive Order 20-02, Raimondo and Health Department director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said in a news conference that the risk to Rhode Islanders remains low.

"This isn’t a time for panic," Raimondo said. "It is, however, a time for action." The state, she said, "has one of the most robust reactions in the U.S.," which could help explain why the number of positive coronavirus cases in Rhode Island has remained at three for several days — although, she said, "we fully expect there will be more cases."

Other states have seen dramatic daily increases and rising deaths as community transmission spreads the disease. No one has died of COVID-19 in Rhode Island.

Raimondo also said that the state on Monday requested and was granted access to national stockpiles of protective equipment for frontline health-care workers and others who may need it — members of the National Guard and the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, for example. Professional-grade masks, goggles and gloves are among the items now available in greater numbers to the state.

Raimondo called on the federal government to declare a federal disaster, to help with unemployment relief for people in quarantine who may be losing income.

"The federal government needs to step up right now, without delay," she said.

In addition to establishing "mobile support units," the emergency declaration directs the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency to open the state emergency operations center, "activate all other necessary state emergency response plans, policies, compacts and agreements … and to activate and deploy disaster response teams and disaster response workers to perform disaster response services."

Also on Monday, in an effort to encourage people who are sick to stay home from work during the coronavirus outbreak, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training has established a hotline and email address to "provide support to people regarding COVID-19 and employment issues," the state Health Department wrote in an update Monday afternoon.

In another development, the Health Department summarized increased precautions it has instructed nursing homes to take to protect staff and residents. The elderly and medically frail are at greatest risk of contracting the COVID-19 disease, as the deaths of 13 residents and one visitor to a nursing home in the Seattle suburbs has demonstrated.

Currently, some 290 Rhode Islanders have been instructed to self-quarantine, and the Health Department on Monday wrote that "it’s extremely important right now that we do all we can do to limit or prevent the spread of COVID-19. If you are sick, stay home from work."

The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training’s COVID-19 Assistance Line, 401-462-2020, is staffed Monday to Friday during business lines. The email address for employment concerns is dlt.covid19@dlt.ri.gov

"If your place of business remains open and you are unable to work, you may be eligible for Temporary Disability Insurance," the Health Department wrote. "If your place of business is closed, or you are told not to come in, and you are not getting paid, you may be eligible for Unemployment Insurance.

"Most Rhode Island private sector workers are eligible for earned sick and safe leave. The benefits provided by this leave enable employees to take time off from work to care for themselves or family members that have been impacted by COVID-19."

During a conference call Friday with nursing home administrators and leaders, the Health Department repeated its instruction to "not allow people to visit if they are younger than 18 years of age or are feeling sick or experiencing any of the following symptoms: cough, fever, chills, runny nose, stuffy nose, sore throat, or shortness of breath."

Also, nursing homes have been told to "actively screen staff, visitors, vendors, and all other people who enter facilities for illness and COVID-19 risks.… People who have traveled internationally in the last 14 days will be asked to not enter facilities."

And the Health Department instructed nursing homes to "only allow residents to leave for medical appointments, as opposed to nonessential appointments, such as an appointment with a hairdresser or a visit to a family member."

"This policy is to keep residents safe by preventing a person from getting ill and bringing an illness back into the facility. In special circumstances, exceptions can be made from this policy, given the importance of mental and emotional health to the overall wellness of older adults. Families should work with nursing home administrators regarding special circumstances."

Also on Monday, Woonsocket-headquartered CVS Health, which operates the country’s largest pharmacy, announced new measures in reaction to the outbreak.

"Beginning immediately, CVS Pharmacy will waive charges for home delivery of prescription medications," the company wrote in a release. "Aetna, a CVS Health company, will now offer 90-day maintenance medication prescriptions for insured and Medicare members and is working with state governments to make the same option available to Medicaid members where allowable. Self-funded plan sponsors will also have the ability to offer this option.

"Aetna will waive early refill limits on 30-day prescription maintenance medications for all members with pharmacy benefits administered through CVS Caremark. Caremark is working with all clients to waive early refill limits on 30-day prescription maintenance medications."

Other measures were announced by CVS Health on Friday.

Read questions and answers about COVID-19, updated daily: https://www.providencejournal.com/article/20200228/NEWS/200229357

gwmiller@providencejournal.com

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