In RI, Coronavirus Impacting Fundraisers, Business Meetings and Sporting Events

In RI, Coronavirus Impacting Fundraisers, Business Meetings and Sporting Events

The impact of the coronavirus is not only causing hundreds of Rhode Islanders to be self-quarantined, but also is hitting the Rhode Island economy and social fiber.

On Friday, it was announced that Bryant University’s Women’s Summit would be postponed until at least June. Meanwhile, high profile events around the country are being canceled or postponed. SXSW -- one of America's leading annual conglomeration of film, interactive media, tech, music festivals, and conferences in Austin, Texas has been canceled. The event attracts nearly 80,000 annually. 

In Massachusetts, the majority of the confirmed cases of coronavirus are tied to a conference held by Biogen -- the number of cases has risen from one at the beginning of the week to 13 as of Saturday.

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One leader in the Rhode Island hospitality industry took to Twitter to encourage stop-gap solutions to promote the state's largest business sector. 

"The coronavirus is poised to have a major effect on the hospitality industry nationwide and our many employees. Please support local restaurants and shops and consider a staycation in a nearby hotel," Tweeted Kristen Adamo, who heads the Providence-Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau.

According to the Rhode Island Department of Labor's 2019 data, the hospitality industry cluster employs 58,267 workers in Rhode Island with an average annual wage of $22,339.

 

Women's Conference and Hasbro Children's Hospital Events Postponed

Kati Machtley, chair of the summit and the wife of outgoing Bryant President Ron Machtley said in the announcement, “We are very disappointed that it has become necessary to postpone the Summit as many people have been working tirelessly to engage with all of you next week. However, we believe postponing the Summit is in everyone’s best interest.“

This follows the decision by Hasbro Children's Hosptial to delay their multi-million dollar fundraiser that was scheduled for Saturday night. 

“After much thoughtful deliberation, and out of an abundance of caution, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the annual Hasbro Children’s Hospital Heroes Ball, planned for this Saturday, March 7, to a later date,” said Lifespan CEO Tim Babineau in the announcement.

“We must consider the large number of health care providers who would be in attendance, many of whom provide unique and essential health care services to the state and the region. The risk, as low as it would be, of having an exposure to the Covid-19 virus at the event that would require quarantine of these individuals is one that we simply can’t take,” he added. 

“These are the physicians, nurses, therapists and other clinicians who care for our children and adults when they are sick or injured. If they were to be quarantined for any reason, the impact on our hospitals would be significant, said Babineau.

 

Impact on Sports

This week, the first sporting events in Rhode Island were impacted. As GoLocal reported Friday, St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket is dropping out of the high school playoffs due to concerns about coronavirus.

“This was an extremely difficult decision to make, and not one that we took lightly. Taking into consideration the student-athletes and coaches involved was of paramount concern. We know how devastating this is to our athletes and coaches who have worked so hard to get to the playoffs. We decided it was the best thing to do for all parties involved,” said Principal Dan Richard in a statement.

St. Ray's has been closed after a faculty member tested positive for coronavirus following a school trip to Italy.

Students are completing online coursework through Friday, March 13.

“While fear is understandable, there has been a lack of understanding of the facts and spreading of misinformation regarding coronavirus. We want to reassure you that the majority of Saints students (all of those who are not under quarantine) do NOT pose a health risk and are not limited in any way in their activities. Only the 130 students currently on self-quarantine are confined to their homes. This has been confirmed repeatedly with the Department of Health,” said Richard.