RI's Weekly Coronavirus Cases Double Safe Threshold

PROVIDENCE, RI — In the past week, new coronavirus cases in Rhode Island were twice that of the safe threshold, according to the latest data from the Rhode Island Department of Health. Last week, there were, on average, 242 new cases per 100,000 people, more than double the state's safe threshold of 100 cases per 100,000 people.

New hospitalizations and the overall percent positive rate also increased over the past week, though both are still below the safe thresholds of 210 and 2.9 percent, respectively.

Since cases began to increase earlier this month, Gov. Gina Raimondo and Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, have urged all Rhode Islanders to take immediate action to prevent a full-blown second wave of the virus by wearing masks any time they are with people outside their household, canceling any Halloween parties and planning to stay local and in small groups on Thanksgiving.

"Let's make Rhode Island the state that leads the way in changing the trajectory," Alexander-Scott previously said of the national rise in cases. "Mask-wearing should now be the default."

The state remains in phase three of reopening, though Raimondo said she may be forced to re-close parts of the economy if the situation continues to worsen. Social gatherings also remain limited to 15 people or fewer, though Rhode Islanders are encouraged to keep their social networks as small as possible to slow the spread of virus transmission in small, informal gatherings, where mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines are often disregarded.

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