The council is expected to consider that proposal Monday night.
The discussion about mask policy on the island gained momentum Monday as officials grappled with information provided by Dr. Thomas Warcup, of the Block Island Medical Center, that 11 people on the island had tested positive for COVID-19 over a two-week period, including three who had been vaccinated.
The council s deliberations Monday night preceded new mask-wearing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the time, Warcup expressed concern about the potential for further virus spread on the island as well as in Rhode Island generally.
He remained concerned Thursday night, but he also told the council that the latest data showed the island had only tallied three new cases during the most recent reporting period, bringing the total number of cases to 14 over a three-week span.
Block Island to encourage indoor mask wearing in lieu of mandate
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Block Island officials may take action following rise in COVID-19
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Summer tourist destinations rush to get full-time residents vaccinated
and last updated 2021-03-08 14:05:10-05
The peace and the quiet that encompasses Block Island in the middle of the winter are what keeps lifelong resident Sue Millikin on this 7-mile stretch of land off the New England coast.
One of a small handful of cab drivers here, the 63-year-old resident spends her days crisscrossing the island helping people get to where they need to go. Tourists flock to Block Island in the summer months, but during the winter, only about 1,000 full-time residents remain here.
But while this summer safe haven is seemingly cut off from the world, it is not cut off from COVID-19.