Community Update: A Statement Regarding DHS Pawtucket Regional Office

Published on Thursday, May 05, 2022

The RI Department of Human Services (DHS) has been working closely with the Department of Administration (DOA) whenever there is a positive case of COVID-19. Recently, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) provided guidance and support to DHS following a number of associated cases at 249 Roosevelt Avenue in Pawtucket.

As part of the Enhanced COVID-19 Mitigation Strategy—with support from RIDOH—we have been able to identify a total of 28 cases as of May 3, 2022, through a mix of PCR, antigen and self-test kits that allowed staff to appropriately quarantine and isolate per the latest guidance from the DOA.  The recent confirmed cases at the Pawtucket regional office correlates with weekly data that shows an increase in community transmission across all counties available here.

All impacted workstations and offices were disinfected on April 28, 2022, immediately after an initial case was first reported. As an additional safety measure, the entire Pawtucket regional office and Call Center was deep cleaned and fogged over the past weekend.

The Pawtucket regional office has approximately 100 staff members assigned to that office. Through the enhanced mitigation strategy that began Monday, May 2, DHS has made available voluntary on-site testing and high-quality masks. Additional temporary office restrictions were also put in place to help mitigate transmission. Customers are encouraged to wear masks and they are available if needed.

DHS has been able to keep the Pawtucket regional office open safely through widely-available and effective testing, treatment, vaccines and mitigation strategies.

We’ll continue to work with our sister agencies to keep the office open safely for anyone as previously communicated with all staff.