1. Ban evictions, foreclosures, and utility shut-offs for non-payment for the duration of the crisis.
2. Ensure free and widely available testing and treatment for COVID-19.
3. Permanently guarantee at least two weeks of paid sick leave per year to all employees in Rhode Island.
4. Permanently guarantee healthcare for all as a human right.

Emergency Measures

As more people in our state contract COVID-19 and go into self-quarantine, many Rhode Islanders will not be able to work, will miss paychecks, and may lose their jobs entirely. But the outbreak is not stopping rent, mortgage payments, or utility bills from coming in. The Rhode Island General Assembly must ban all evictions, foreclosures and utility shut-offs for nonpayment throughout the duration of the crisis.

Nobody should lose their home or be deprived of running water, heat, or electricity simply because they got sick.

Testing for COVID-19 must be entirely free at the point of use for everyone, regardless of whether they have health insurance. If Rhode Islanders aren't getting tested because they can't afford it, we won't be able to track or manage this crisis, and everyone will be at risk. Any treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, once it is developed, must be free and accessible for everyone.

No one should continue to suffer because they can't afford a vaccine, test, or treatment, and public health shouldn't be endangered because we fail to care for the most vulnerable among us.

Permanent Measures

Our priority right now is to do everything we can as a state to address the acute public health crisis. But the outbreak of COVID-19 has also shown the need for permanent changes to Rhode Island law to reduce our vulnerability to epidemic disease and better protect our state's residents.

Rhode Island must guarantee at least two weeks of paid sick leave per year for all employees in the state. Infectious diseases spread exponentially faster when people are forced to go to work even when they are sick. Guaranteeing at least two weeks of paid sick leave for all employees will help reduce the spread of COVID-19, prevent future outbreaks from spreading so quickly, and protect Rhode Island families from the financial fallout of getting sick.

If you choose to protect your community by going into self-quarantine, your community should have your back by guaranteeing you paid sick leave.

Rhode Island must permanently guarantee healthcare to everyone as a human right. The COVID-19 outbreak has shown us how each individual's health is deeply connected to their community's health. Ensuring that every Rhode Islander has healthcare will make everyone safer, reduce our vulnerability to epidemic disease, and help repair our broken healthcare system.

Healthcare is a human right, and ensuring this right for everybody will help protect us all.