RI's Coronavirus Hospitalizations Continue To Climb

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's coronavirus hospitalizations continued to increased over the past week, while the overall number of cases and percent positivity held steady. This slight uptick is likely due in part to the prevalence of more transmissible variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, said during last week's news conference that the state was in a plateau with a "slightly upward slope" when it came to weekly coronavirus data trends, which is also the case in many other states. Of the state's 39 cities and towns, 39 saw an increase in case numbers the week prior, she said Thursday.

Tuesday's data update showed a similar case for the past week. New hospitalizations rose from 122 to 163, which is still below the safe threshold of 210.

The overall percent positivity rate, meanwhile, held steady at 2.4 percent, while cases per 100,000 people pretty much held steady, only rising by one from the week before. Case numbers are the only data trend still above the safe threshold of 100 or fewer, currently at 270.

Despite concerns about the increase in coronavirus variants, vaccinations are moving along swiftly in Rhode Island. As of Tuesday, more than 262,000 residents were fully vaccinated, and nearly 623,000 total doses had been administered.