No New Coronavirus Deaths In RI For 2nd Day

PROVIDENCE, RI — For the second day in a row, the Rhode Island Department of Health reported no new coronavirus-related deaths, along with a decrease in the daily positivity rate from the day before.

On Friday, the state saw 64 new cases and no fatalities, with a positivity rate of 1.7 percent. That's a decrease from Thursday, when there were 107 new cases and a positivity rate of 2.5 percent, as well as no new deaths.

Rhode Island has seen a slight uptick in cases over the past weeks, which Gov. Gina Raimondo blamed on unmasked, non-socially distant social gatherings at her weekly news conference Wednesday.

"If you're doing this, I need you to knock it off because people are getting sick, people are dying, and it's not necessary," Raimondo said. "Your right to have a party should not infringe on their right to live."

For this reason, the state will remain in phase three of reopening for an additional month, Raimondo said, since the r-value, or virus's rate of spread, is higher than the benchmark of 1.1, currently sitting at 1.5. In the coming weeks, the state needs to buckle down and "keep a lid" on the virus, Raimondo said, to allow Rhode Islander to get back to work, and kids back to in-person school Aug. 31.

"There is too much transmission going on right now, particularly tied to the social gatherings," Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Department of Health, said Wednesday. "Wearing masks is critical. Wearing masks is key ... Too many people have told us they could have done better ... Too many young people are identified multiple, multiple contacts."