RI's Coronavirus Rate, Case Numbers Climb After Holidays

PROVIDENCE, RI — Despite numerous warnings to Rhode Islanders not to gather indoors this holiday season, the state is seeing a spike in its weekly coronavirus trend data in the first week of 2021. Since last week, both the percent positivity rate and cases per 100,000 people rose.

New hospitalizations continued their three-week trend of declining, though a spike is possible in the coming weeks. Unlike percent positivity and new cases, hospitalizations are a lagging indicator, meaning an increase tends to come a week or two after the other trends.

Since Dec. 26, the percent positivity rate rose by nearly two percentage points to 7.4 percent. Throughout December, the percent positivity rate declined from its Dec. 5 peak, nearly reaching the safe threshold of 5 percent last week.

Cases per 100,000 people, meanwhile, increased by 177 in the past week to 668.

Rhode Island's social gathering limit remains limited to single households, and the post-pause restrictions remain in place. Gov. Gina Raimondo is expected to discuss these and other regulations at her first weekly news conference of the new year at 1 p.m. on Friday.

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