RI's Coronavirus Numbers Improve For Three Consecutive Weeks

CRANSTON, RI—Over a week after the end of Rhode Island's three-week coronavirus "pause," the state continues to see an encouraging trend in its weekly data, with a decline among all three indicators-percent positivity, new hospital admissions, and cases per 100,000 people for the third week in a row.

The R.I. Department of Health COVID-19 Data Tracker revealed on Tuesday that the state experienced a drop in new cases per 100,000 people this week, falling to 486 from last week's 595. Percent positivity also saw a hopeful trend, dropping .8 percentage points from 6.4% t0 5.6%.

New hospitalizations decreased significantly compared to last week, down by 56 from last week. Hospitalizations are a lagging indicator, meaning that they tend see significant decreases a week or two later than others. There are currently 423 people hospitalized statewide.

Although Rhode Island's COVID-19 indicators continue to decrease, the state reported 1,095 new positive cases and 18 deaths on Tuesday, increasing its daily positivity rate from 8.1% to 9.4%.

Gov. Gina Raimondo did not hold a coronavirus conference this week, but will return with statewide updates on Thursday, Jan 7 at 1 p.m. At that point, the usual Thursday schedule will resume until further notice.