PROVIDENCE State Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott ordered the emergency suspension of a North Providence doctor’s license after investigators determined that he deliberately exposed patients and staff to COVID-19 and presented a danger to the community.
Dr. Anthony Farina, a 1991 Brown University School of Medicine graduate who runs at least six medical practices in Rhode Island, on Thursday was suspended from practicing medicine until further order of the Department of Health or the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline for an overall pattern of “unprecedented” willful misconduct.
The board’s investigative committee moved to have Farina’s license summarily suspended by Alexander-Scott after hearing witness testimony that he exposed staff and patients to COVID after becoming symptomatic in late November. They reported that Farina continued to work even after testing positive days later, continuing to see patients while wearing an N-95 mask
Massachusetts saw its K-12 enrollment fall by nearly 3%, or 28,000 students, according to Chalkbeat. Almost half of those students wound up being home-schooled or switching to private schools, but about 7,000 students remained unaccounted for, state officials told Chalkbeat.
The biggest worry is that some students simply gave up and dropped out, although those numbers are harder to track.
In Rhode Island, as school-reopening plans changed over the summer, many parents opted to homeschool their children. Others chose not to send their children to preschool or kindergarten at all.
State Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said she is working with districts to figure out where these students have gone. The good news, she said, is that Rhode Island has “lost” fewer children than most other New England states.