April 17, 2020
The latest updates from Rhode Island (April 16th) are as follows: Rhode Island has 309 new cases of COVID-19. This brings Rhode Island’s count to 3,838. RIDOH also announced 18 additional COVID-19 associated fatalities. Seven people were in their 70s, seven people were in their 80s, and four people were in their 90s. Rhode Island’s number of COVID-19 associated fatalities is now 105. Block Island has declared a state of emergency, which went into effect in the middle of March, and has been amended since. The Town Council has been meeting frequently and streaming on the BI Times Facebook page, and now also on YouTube. The Town is asking everyone to quarantine on arrival, for 14 days. Everyone should wear a protective face mask when in public. Groups should be 5 people or less. A handful of restaurants, a cafe, and one food truck are open, all for take-out only. No hotels or rooming board licenses have been issued at this time. The latest ordinance is in effect through May 8th.
Our winter renovation projects have come to a wrap, with the majority of work finished, but still with some plastering, painting, and finishing carpentry to be done. The cost of these renovations during the winter would typically be offset with reservations coming in. But that is not the case this year. All of that has now unfortunately come to a standstill as we try to wait patiently and see how the 2020 season shapes up for the summer months ahead.
First and foremost we are invested in keeping our island community safe. If you are not aware, there is a very small but excellent medical facility on the island, overseen by Dr. Clark, that includes a few patient rooms, and a small staff. The BI Medical Center is not fully equipped to handle any emergencies. Anyone with any serious condition is typically flown off in a helicopter to a local hospital in Westerly or in Providence. Block Island is remote, 14 miles from the coast of Rhode Island, and just not a great place to be with any health issues at all, especially during bad weather. Interstate Navigation has limited the ferry service to just once a day back and forth from Pt Judith, as a life-line service only for islanders. The island has done a great job so far of creating a “seal” in place for its community, and the incidence of COVID-19 remains very very low.
In these next two weeks, we will be busy working on a strategic plan for what looks like to be an unusual travel season to come. Please stay posted for the next update and thank you for reading.