For 3rd Week In A Row, RI's Coronavirus Stats Improve

PROVIDENCE, RI — For the third week in a row, Rhode Island's weekly coronavirus data is showing improvement. The state's weekly percent positivity rate reached 5 percent, the first time it's been at or below the "safe threshold" in months.

The state first passed the 5 percent mark Nov. 2 and didn't look back, skyrocketing to a weekly high of 9 percent the week of Dec. 5. Following a slight spike right after the start of the new year, the rate has been gradually decreasing over the past few weeks.

New hospitalizations, a major area of concern when it comes to not overwhelming the health care system, have generally held steady over the past three weeks. While this week's number, 382, is still well above the safe threshold of 210 or fewer, Gov. Gina Raimondo said last week that she was relieved to see the numbers starting to go "in the right direction."

As has been the case throughout much of the pandemic, Rhode Island's cases per 100,000 residents remain high. Both Raimondo and Department of Health leaders maintain that much of this is due to the high volume of testing in the state, which has consistently ranked among the top states for testing per capita. However, following a two-week spike at the beginning of the year, this number, too, decreased over the past week from 761 to 569. It remains well above the threshold of 100 cases per 100,000 people or fewer.