PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A recently retired Rhode Island Supreme Court justice has tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting a change in at least two swearing-in ceremonies.
Francis X. Flaherty, who retired on Dec. 31, was supposed to swear in new House speaker, K. Joseph Shekarchi and Warwick Mayor-elect Frank Picozzi on Tuesday.
News of the positive test came in a news release about Picozzi’s ceremony.
“RI Supreme Court Justice and former Warwick Mayor Francis X. Flaherty was to administer the oath of office to Mayor-Elect Picozzi on Tuesday, January 5th, but has tested positive for Covid-19,” the statement said.
Picozzi on his Facebook page said he has spoken with Flaherty and “he’s as disappointed as I am.”
District Court Judge Stephen Isherwood will take Flaherty’s place.
House spokesman Larry Berman told The Providence Journal on Monday that Flaherty called Shekarchi on Saturday to advise him that he would not be able to administer the oath of office to him.
Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg will step in for Flaherty.
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DEATHS SURPASS 1,800
The number of coronavirus-related fatalities in Rhode Island during the pandemic has surged past 1,800, according to statistics released Monday by the state Department of Health.
There were 78 more deaths and almost 3,200 more confirmed cases of the disease in the past five days, according to the department, which updated its numbers for the first time since Dec. 30.
There have now been 1,855 deaths and almost 93,000 cases.
The latest seven-day average positivity rate in Rhode Island is more than 8.7%. State health departments are calculating positivity rate differently across the country, but for Rhode Island the AP calculates the rate by dividing new cases by test encounters using data from The COVID Tracking Project.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Rhode Island decreased over the past two weeks, going from 899 on Dec. 20 to 430 on Sunday.
The state has now also administered more than 24,000 of first vaccine doses.
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SCHOOL SPORTS
Providence schools announced Monday that the winter high school sports season will go on as planned with certain precautions in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Practice for basketball, track and field, swimming and gymnastics are scheduled to start this week.
“Providence Public School District understands the high value sports bring to student development and wellness,” Superintendent Harrison Peters said in a statement. “We are taking great care to provide a structured environment with layers of precautions so students can participate in winter sports as safely as possible.”
Masks will be required, no spectators will be allowed, and hand-held equipment will be frequently cleaned.
Locker rooms will not be available and bench seating will be expanded to allow for social distancing. Student-athletes will also be required to bring their own water bottles, which they must not share.
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