PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has announced a stay-at-home order, a ban on gatherings of more than five people, and several other restrictions following the state's first two deaths coronavirus-related deaths.
Gov. Raimondo has also instructed all travelers coming into Rhode Island for non-work reasons to self-quarantine for 14 days, mirroring Massachusetts Gov. Baker's advisory on Friday.
“It’s a step I take reluctantly,” Raimondo said on Saturday. “I’m trying to maintain a semblance of an economy. But I’m hearing too many reports of people crowding into stores.” The Governor added that the order to limit contact to five people includes “everywhere, outside, and around your kitchen table."
Starting March 30, all non-essential businesses in Rhode Island will be ordered to close. The state National Guard has also been going house-to-house in some communities looking for travelers from New York.
As of Friday, Rhode Island had 239 positive cases of COVID-19 and two deaths.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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