RI Counties Move From CDC’s “Low” to “Medium” Tier for New COVID Infections
Friday, April 15, 2022
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) announced Friday that an increase in COVID cases in multiple counties in the state has moved them up a tier, according to CDC framework.
"Last month, Rhode Island transitioned to the CDC’s new framework for measuring community level risk for COVID-19. Rather than using case rates alone, the CDC’s new framework also incorporates hospitalizations and hospital capacity," said RIDOH spokesperson Joseph Wendelken Friday morning. "This is in line with the national shift toward managing COVID-19 like an endemic disease. Our focus is on preventing serious illness and hospitalizations."
Counties in RI on Rise
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWendelken added the following
The CDC updates their data at the county level on Thursday evenings. As a result of the more contagious BA.2 Omicron variant, states throughout the country have seen a moderate increase in cases. Bristol, Kent, Newport, and Washington Counties have moved from the “low” tier to the “medium” tier in the CDC’s data update this week.
These counties are “medium” because more than 200 new cases per 100,000 people were identified there in the last seven days. Our hospitalization numbers and hospital capacity numbers are still considered low throughout the state. (For example, we have 57 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized, compared to more than 600 at prior points during the pandemic.) However, having more than 200 new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days automatically puts a county into “medium.”
For people in counties in the “medium” tier, CDC provides recommendations, including:
* If you are immunocompromised or high risk, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you should wear a mask
* Have a plan for testing if needed
* Talk to your healthcare provider about whether you are a candidate for treatment
* If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk for severe disease, consider self-testing before contact and consider wearing a mask when indoors with them
* Get vaccinated
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