Rhode Island Ends Scheduled Coronavirus Briefings

PROVIDENCE, RI — About a year into the coronavirus pandemic, Rhode Island has reached another milestone. Starting this week, Gov. Dan McKee and other top state leaders will no longer gather for scheduled pandemic-related news conferences.

McKee and Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos will hold a news conference Thursday at 1 p.m., the time usually reserved for such briefings. Instead of focusing only on the pandemic, the conference will be open to any topic.

"It is important to the governor and lieutenant governor to be regularly accessible to members of the press," McKee's office said. "Therefore, going forward, every Tuesday at 2 p.m. the governor and lieutenant governor will hold a general media availability in the State Room. COVID-19 briefings will be advised on an as-needed basis."

Then-Gov. Gina Raimondo started holding briefings after the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Rhode Island. At the time, she and Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Department of Health, held daily briefings as the pandemic situation changed rapidly.

After social distancing orders were put into effect, the briefings were closed to all members of the public and the media, with questions later made possible by a live, online feed. The briefings were later moved to Veterans Memorial Auditorium to allow reporters to attend while maintaining physical distance.

Over time, the briefings were reduced to just weekdays, then just a few times per week, weekly, and, finally, McKee opted to hold them on a biweekly basis.