Rhode Island Coronavirus Hospitalizations Top 200

PROVIDENCE, RI — More than 200 Rhode Islanders were hospitalized with the coronavirus Monday as infections continued to climb in the state.

The state crossed another milestone in the pandemic, exceeding 38,000 cases since the first case was confirmed in March.

Hospitalizations are a lagging indicator, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the state's Department of Health, explained previously. This means an increase in hospitalizations is expected to follow a surge in cases by several weeks. Since cases began to climb in October, hospitalizations have been on the rise, reaching their highest point in recent months on Oct. 31 when 160 people were hospitalized.

In the past weeks, the daily percent positive rate has been climbing, reaching 6.7 percent on Sunday. The weekly rate remains below the state's safe threshold of 5 percent, though it has steadily increased each week since the beginning of October.

To help slow the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Gina Raimondo implemented new restrictions last week, including a stay-at-home advisory, stricter mask requirements and less capacity at big-box stores and malls. Further guidelines for Thanksgiving gatherings are expected this week.

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