RI's COVID-19 Emergency Extended, No More Executive Orders

PROVIDENCE, RI — While Rhode Island's COVID-19 executive orders are set to expire by the end of the month, the state of emergency will remain for the time being. On Wednesday, Gov. Dan McKee issued an extension to the state of emergency, renewing it until April 13.

There were several reasons for the extension, a spokesperson for the governor told Patch. The emergency order allows the state to offer benefits to residents, such as expanded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance benefits reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the governor's office explained.

The extension comes ahead of the end of the governor's pandemic-related executive authority. Last month, the General Assembly approved a resolution extending the governor's emergency powers through the end of March. While the legislature has the power to extend McKee's emergency powers again, there has not been any indication it will do so.

That means that while the state of emergency will remain in place, McKee will not have the ability to issue any more pandemic-related executive orders, such as mask requirements, after March 31.

To date, nearly all of Rhode Island's executive orders have been lifted. The mask-wearing or proof of vaccine requirement lifted Feb. 11, followed by the statewide school mask mandate March 4. As the state moves into the next phase of COVID-19 response, McKee said the state will focus on targeted, individual actions instead of blanket policies.

Rhode Island has been under a state of emergency since March 9, 2020. Then-Gov. Gina Raimondo issued the executive order to allow greater flexibility in responding to the quickly changing situation.

"We need to take action," Raimondo said at the time. "I want every tool at my disposal."

The initial state of emergency was continued until August 2021, when Gov. Dan McKee issued a new declaration. When asked in October, McKee said the state would see "a slow exit" from the state of emergency, based on data including vaccination rates, case numbers and hospitalizations.