Testing has been expanded to those who don’t show symptoms

PROVIDENCE,  RI (WLNE) – Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo gave a COVID-19 media briefing on Monday.

Governor Raimondo provided additional details on the Crush COVID RI App and testing in the state of Rhode Island .

It was announced that version 1.5 of the Crush COVID RI App was released Monday. This version provides a more accurate location diary and is more user friendly. There are approximately 46 thousand users currently and the governor hopes to report 50 thousand users by the end of the week. A final version of the app will be released by the end of June.

Raimondo stressed that testing continues to be a critical piece of the puzzle in handling the coronavirus. After a morning call with other governors and the White House, she was proud to report that Rhode Island is recognized as being the best in the nation with testing.

Rhode Island continues with the highest rate of testing per capita with just about 15 percent of the state’s population already tested. The national average is 5.5 percent.

Earlier during the pandemic, the state was at a point testing fewer people while 25 percent of those people were testing positive. Over the last few days, fewer than 3 percent of people tested had a positive result.

To continue improving the state’s testing techniques, the state will continue testing everyone who has symptoms and providing test results within a couple of days. The state plans to quickly react to outbreaks as businesses are opening and more people are in contact. For example, if there is an outbreak at a nursing home or manufacturing site, the plan is to have a team on site within four hours to provide testing to those exposed. The latest initiative is to test people who are asymptomatic.

The governor emphasized that she never wants to close Rhode Island’s economy again. A new aggressive effort begins Monday in testing asymptomatic people. This testing will be available for close contact works such as hairdressers, restaurant workers, nail technicians and also child care employees.

Asymptomatic testing will eventually expand to those working in retail, manufacturing and schools.

Monday’s briefing was the first time Raimondo made a public appearance since appearing on the statehouse steps Friday night to talk with protesters.

Raimondo said she spoke to protesters Friday evening to make it clear that she is committed to taking action regarding racism. She asked that those who attended the protest take extra caution as to who they are around and suggested everyone be tested. The governor even stated that she and her family along with her staff that were at Friday night’s protest will be tested this week and will go into isolation if test results are returned positive.

Following the briefing, Raimondo was asked during questioning why she appeared Friday night without a mask on. She said, “It was a mistake on my part. I shouldn’t have done it.” Later she said, “I was only there for a few minutes.”

The Rhode Island Department of Health on Monday reported 213 new cases and 27 new deaths since Friday. (Note: RIDOH no longer reports new COVID-19 data on the weekends so these numbers reflect data collected from the last three days.)

Rhode Island’s death toll is now at 799.

As a reminder, Raimondo has said that starting this week she will hold COVID-19 briefings three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.