Is the coronavirus crisis R.I. Governor Raimondo's 'flannel shirt' moment?

PROVIDENCE -- Rhode Islanders were stunned when health officials announced on March 1 that the state had its first case of the coronavirus -- a chaperone on a private school’s trip to Europe during February vacation.

Within days, Governor Gina M. Raimondo called for all high schools and colleges in Rhode Island to cancel or postpone overseas trips, ordered all state employees who had recently traveled to certain countries to stay home, and asked private employers to do the same with their workers.

As her health department moved to set up drive-through testing sites, Raimondo declared a state of emergency. She urged all Rhode Islanders to avoid big crowds and pointedly advised Newport to cancel its St. Patrick’s Day parade. (It did.)

She closed all public schools in the state for this week and told administrators to use the time to set up distance learning plans. She banned all visitors from nursing homes, called on child care centers to close for at least a week, and ordered Rhode Islanders returning from overseas trips to self-quarantine.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/19/metro/is-coronavirus-crisis-ri-governor-raimondos-flannel-shirt-moment/