RI Coronavirus Positivity Rate Continues To Fall; 100K Vaccinated

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island reached a promising milestone in the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday when state officials announced 100,000 residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. That means about 10 percent of the state's population has received a shot, which includes the first shot or the booster several weeks later.

For yet another week in a row, the Rhode Island Department of Health reported good news with the weekly data trends for the state. The state's percent positivity rate — long touted by Gov. Gina Raimondo and state leaders as the best indicator of how widespread the virus is in the state — remained well below the safe threshold of 5 percent, falling nearly a full percentage point to 3.3 percent from last week's 4 percent.

New hospitalizations and cases per 100,000 people improved over the last week, though both remain the "red zone." Hospitalizations saw a significant decline after mostly holding steady for the past month, falling from 386 to 295. There's still a while to go before that figure falls below the safe threshold of 210 new hospitalizations or fewer per week, however.

Cases per 100,000 people have been steadily declining since they peaked at 764 on Jan. 9. New cases have varied widely throughout Rhode Island's holiday-centered coronavirus spike, reaching 791 in mid-December, before starting to decline the following two weeks ahead of the mid-January spike. Since then, cases have fallen, decreasing 100 to 399 per 100,000 people over the past week. As is the case with hospitalizations, case numbers still have a long way to go before reaching the safe threshold of 100.

Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, said last week that although Rhode Island's improving data trends are encouraging, residents cannot become complacent, and must continue to follow safety guidelines such as wearing a mask when with anyone outside the immediate household, washing their hands frequently and avoiding social gatherings.

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