55 New Cases of Coronavirus In RI; 9 Deaths

PROVIDENCE, RI — The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Rhode Island passed 800 Tuesday with the addition of nine new deaths. The Rhode Island Department of Health also announced 55 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the cumulative total to 15,691.

As of Tuesday, 144 people were in the hospital related to the coronavirus. Of these patients, 31 were in intensive care units and 19 were on a ventilator. To date, 1,398 people have been discharged from the hospital throughout the pandemic.

Rhode Island has been a downward-trending plateau for more than a month following a daily peak in new cases of 422 in late April. This is a good indicator that the state is in a good position to continue the reopening process, Gov. Gina Raimondo said Monday, because the state is increasing the number of people tested per day while seeing a drop in the percent positive rate. Over the past few days, the average rate has been around three percent, she said, compared to approximately 25 percent at the height of the outbreak.

In addition, the state has not seen a large spike in cases following Memorial Day weekend, meaning that social distancing requirements — including fabric face coverings, maintaining distance in public and frequent handwashing — are working, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the department, said.

Despite the statewide drop in positivity rates, several communities continue to have high rates of COVID-19, well above the 10 percent recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Central Falls continues to have the highest percent positive rate in the state at 25 percent, followed by Providence at 23 percent. A dozen communities, in total, have rates at or above 10 percent: Central Falls, Providence, North Providence, Pawtucket, East Providence, Smithfield, Woonsocket, Johnston, Cranston, Cumberland, North Kingstown and West Warwick.