once the stay-at-home order is lifted. in the first re-opening phase, gathering sizes would be increased from five people to ten, elective surgeries at hospitals could resume, and non-essential stores would be allowed to offer in-store pickup of pre-ordered items. parks, dentistry offices, hair salons, and barber shops would also be allowed to re-open with social distancing guidelines. additional restrictions on retail, restaurants, and large gatherings would be lifted in subsequent phases. in order for the stay-at-home order to be lifted, or for the plan to move from one phase to the next, there would have to be a two-week downward trend in new covid-19 cases or a trend in declining hospitalizations. a dramatic increase in covid-19 cases or deaths at any time would result in the state restricting gatherings again. april 28: the rhode island department of health confirms that state hospital covid-19 patient discharge numbers also includes patients who died in the hospital. of the 466 discharges recorded as of this date, 86 are hospital deaths. april 29: the discharge numbers announced the day prior are revised to exclude the 86 hospital deaths which are already counted in death statistics, and instead only list the 391 hospital patients who recovered. then-governor raimondo announces that large events, concerts, and parades scheduled for the summer would not be allowed to occur. gatherings of over 100 people, such as large weddings, may be allowed by august if case numbers decline. the rhode island philharmonic orchestra cancels the remainder of its 2019–20 season, with the exception of its 75th anniversary gala, which was rescheduled to october 11. the newport folk and newport jazz festivals cancel their 2020 editions, which were due to take place in july and august. the washington county fair, which was to be held in august, is canceled for 2020. april 30: as of this date, there are 266 deaths in rhode island attributed to covid-19. between 175 and 179 of these deaths are connected to nursing homes. bryant university announces plans to hold its fall semester at its smithfield campus. the rhode island department of health revises its hospitalization numbers to include patients due to a new computerized system that also includes patients who were diagnosed with covid-19 but were initially admitted to the hospital for reasons other than the illness; those cases were included in state positive case numbers but not hospital data before april 30. may may 2: providence reopens nine of its city parks, including roger williams park, for running, walking, and bicycling. 23 city streets are closed to through traffic, except for emergency vehicles and residents of those streets, to allow for socially distanced exercise. as of this date, there are no active cases of covid-19 on block island; the only case confirmed on the island was a seasonal resident who was evacuated from the island and did not return upon recovery. may 4: the rhode island department of environmental management lifts emergency restrictions on trout fishing that had been put in place when the season opened on april 6. providence reopens three streets that had been closed to through traffic on may 2. the wickford art festival cancels its 2020 edition, which was scheduled to be held in wickford in july. may 5: raimondo issues an executive order, to be effective may 8, requiring all rhode island residents to wear a face covering in public places. drive through testing site at rhode island college in north providence may 6: rhode island surpasses 10,000 confirmed cases of covid-19; as of this date, there are 10,205 cases and 370 deaths in the state attributed to covid-19. may 8: raimondo lifts the current state stay-at-home order, to be effective the next day, but urges individuals to not visit mothers in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or hospitals for mother's day. rhode island department of health director nicole alexander-scott reports that of the 7,129 covid-19 cases reported as of april 25, 6,800 had recovered, bringing the state recovery rate to 95.39%. may 9: the state stay-at-home order is lifted after expiring the previous day. on may 7, then-governor raimondo stated she decided not to renew the order because of increased state-wide testing, declining hospitalizations, and a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment. the first phase of the state re-opening plan is enacted after the stay-at-home order expires. following the expiration of the stay at home order, non-essential retailers will be allowed to open with restrictions and hospitals will be allowed to resume required non-emergency medical procedures. fifteen state parks are reopened but face covid-19-related restrictions, such as maintaining social distancing, reducing hours of operation, and limiting parking spaces. may 11: then-governor raimondo's daily media briefings are moved from the rhode island state house to the veterans memorial auditorium to allow news reporters to attend in person for the first time since march. a second protest against the state's current covid-19 restrictions, hosted by local radio personality john depetro and attended by about 40 protesters, is held outside the rhode island state house. may 13: the rhode island supreme court resumes hearing cases remotely. yawgoog scout reservation in rockville cancels all summer boy scout camps. may 14: raimondo announces libraries will be allowed to reopen their buildings for limited browsing in the second phase of the state plan. may 15: the international tennis hall of fame in newport cancels its 2020 induction ceremony, which was due to take place in july; 2020 inductees will instead be recognized during the 2021 ceremony. the rustic drive-in in north smithfield and misquamicut drive-in in westerly are the first movie theaters in the state to re-open for regular film screenings, with social distancing in place. then-governor raimondo announces that the second phase of the state reopening plan would be enacted in june; it had been previously indicated that the phases would be in two-week increments. raimondo also unveils the four metrics that will be taken into consideration by the state to move between phases: hospital capacity, new hospitalizations, the rate of spread, and the double rate of hospitalizations. may 16: rhode island national guard ends its checkpoint operations at t.f. green international airport and the rhode island border, which had begun in march and notified out-of-state visitors to rhode island of the 14-day quarantine rule. may 17: the university of rhode island holds a virtual recognition ceremony for the undergraduate class of 2020, featuring an address from then-governor raimondo. an event for graduate students was held the day prior. may 18: restaurants are allowed to resume outdoor dining as of this date. rhode island surpasses 500 recorded deaths related to covid-19. as of this date, there have been 506 deaths and 12,795 positive cases recorded in the state. then-governor raimondo announces tentative plans to restart sunday services at houses of worship beginning the weekend of may 30. may 19: 26 new covid-19-related deaths are recorded in rhode island, the highest one day toll to date. the state releases a contact tracing app called "crush covid ri", in which users can keep track of 20 days worth of their travel history on their mobile phone in case they are diagnosed with covid-19. may 23: third beach, located in middletown, opens for the season, but only for middletown residents. may 25: east matunuck state beach in south kingstown and scarborough state beach in narragansett reopen with limited parking. may 29: cvs opens ten drive-through covid-19 testing sites around the state. may 30: houses of worship resume service with a 25 percent capacity limit being enforced. the roman catholic diocese of providence resumes public mass. may 31: at the end of may, there are 718 deaths in rhode island attributed to covid-19. june june 1: rhode island moves into the second phase of its reopening plan. in this phase, the social gathering limit is increased to 15 people, barbershops, salons, gyms, and fitness studios re-open with a reduced capacity, and offices are allowed to bring one-third of their employees back to work in-person. childcare facilities re-open. amtrak resumes service of its acela express high-speed train, which stops in providence, on a modified schedule and with reduced capacity. indoor dining at restaurants resumes at 50 percent capacity, with no standing service allowed. live music performances are allowed, provided there is at least 14 feet of distance between the performer and guests. all state beaches reopen, but with some restrictions like reduced parking. providence place and warwick malls reopen to customers. june 2: roger williams park zoo in providence reopens. most travel restrictions to rhode island are lifted, and out-of-state travelers who intend to stay in the state will no longer be required to quarantine for 14 days unless they are traveling from a region or state that is still under a stay-at-home order. youth and adult sports are allowed to resume with 15 or fewer regular participants, although tournaments and league play are still not allowed. june 5: some city-owned buildings in providence reopen, with most of the providence place mall remaining closed. june 8: twin river casino in lincoln and tiverton casino in tiverton are reopened by invitation only. june 15: rhode island records less than a 2% positivity rate from tests over the weekend, the lowest rate since the beginning of the pandemic. in addition, hospitalizations, ventilator cases, and intensive care cases see declining numbers. a television special for graduating rhode island high school seniors airs on rhode island pbs featuring a keynote speech by actress and central falls native viola davis, appearances by seth macfarlane, julian edelman, meredith vieira, and elizabeth beisel, and performances by singers billy gilman and erika van pelt. june 19: the rhode island department of health reports that no cases of covid-19 confirmed in rhode island over the previous two weeks were connected to participation in the george floyd protest in providence on june 5. june 21: the international tennis hall of fame in newport reopens to the public. june 25: rhode island reports 25 positive tests, the lowest number of positive cases since march 25, with hospitalizations falling under 100 patients for the first time since late march. june 28: cnn reports that in the past week, rhode island and connecticut have been the only two states in which covid-19 cases have decreased. the remaining 48 states either have increased case rates or were tracking steady. june 29: summer camps for children open for the season, with new protocols for group gatherings and cleaning. new quarantine orders are ordered by governor raimondo: any visitor who arrives in rhode island from a state that is still undergoing a covid-19 surge will be required to quarantine for 14 days, excepting those who can prove they had recently tested negative. rhode islanders who return to the state from a state where at least 5% of the tests are positive are required to take a covid-19 test within 72 hours of their return to rhode island; otherwise, they will have to quarantine for 14 days. june 30: rhode island enters phase three of the state's reopening plan. in the third phase, social gatherings of up to 25 people and public events of up to 125 people are allowed and museums, arcades, bowling alleys, and movie theaters will be allowed to reopen with social distancing measures in place. at the end of june, there are a total 950 deaths in rhode island attributed to covid-19. july july 4: the bristol fourth of july parade, the oldest independence day celebration in the united states, is held as a "drive-by" parade, with participants driving the route in their cars instead of marching the streets of bristol. july 8: visitations at rhode island nursing homes are permitted to resume. july 13: rhode island's seven-day average of new cases reaches 55, its highest point in three weeks. july 23: the number of deaths resulting from covid-19 in rhode island exceeds 1,000. then-governor raimondo orders all state flags lowered to half-mast until july 26 in memory of rhode islanders who have died from covid-19. july 29: following a rise in covid-19 cases connected to outdoor gatherings, then-governor raimondo announces rhode island would not move to the fourth phase of its reopening plan, instead reducing social gathering limits from 25 to 15 people. august august 11: the number of covid-19 cases in rhode island surpasses 20,000. september