Newport Officials Credit Mask Buy-In For Low Coronavirus Cases

NEWPORT, RI – As positive coronavirus cases and deaths continue to climb around the country, Newport city officials are crediting a commitment to face-coverings among residents for the city’s positivity rate remaining among the lowest in Rhode Island.

According to Rhode Island Department of Health data, only 3 percent of Newport residents – 132 in all - have tested positive since the pandemic began, according to numbers posted on Wednesday. Of the city’s nearly 25,000 residents, 17 percent have been tested, data shows. On Wednesday, 79 new confirmed cases and three new deaths were reported across Rhode Island, where 20,795 residents have tested positive and 1,027 have died since the beginning of the pandemic.

Yet, in a meeting with City Council members on Tuesday, City manager Joseph Nicholson said that Newport has come a long way in keeping from positive cases from growing locally over the past several months. Nicholson suggested on Tuesday that local data shows case totals to actually be lower than what the state is reporting and that the city has only registered closer to 120 positive cases as opposed to the total being reported by state health officials.

Nicholson said that the three-day average for positive cases is zero, which, he said, has been the case since Aug. 5. While other neighboring municipalities including Central Falls, Providence and Cranston all had at least 100 cases per 100,000 residents, Newport registered 20 cases per 100,000 people while Middletown and Portsmouth both registered minimal cases as well.

“I think that’s a good sign,” Nicholson told councilors during a briefing on Tuesday.

Nicholson reported Tuesday that volunteers continue to hand out free masks to residents and that signage continues to be used to promote the city's initiative to keep residents safe. The city currently has 3,000 masks to hand out, Nicholson said, as city officials keep emphasizing the importance of wearing face-coverings, especially in mandatory areas. He said police have traveled up and down America’s Cup Ave. using loudspeakers to encourage residents to wear face-coverings as the city continues to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Nicholson said city officials have handed out 1,000 cloth masks and expect to receive another 8,000 from the state as efforts continue. City officials issued an executive order on June 3 requiring everyone with the exception of children and those with health issues to wear masks in busy areas between noon and 10 p.m.

Mayor Jamie Bova said Tuesday that she continues from local residents praising their neighbors for wearing masks in the city. Nicholson praised Newport’s “very astute” population for leading the way in face-coverings, a trend that he said visitors continue as the city continues to provide messaging in various ways.

“Hopefully, the numbers are reflective of those types of small efforts,” Nicholson said. “(People wearing masks) is a good sight downtown and we’ve come a thousand yards since when we started.”