Rhode Island Now Has 4th Highest Number of Coronavirus Cases Per 100,000 in U.S.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Despite claims by Governor Gina Raimondo that the “pause” — the partial shutdown worked — Rhode Island now has the fourth-highest number of cases per 100,000 residents in the United States.
Rhode Island has the highest level of infection per capita in New England and 20% higher than the next closest state, Massachusetts.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLast week, Rhode Island had dropped out of the top ten -- it is now back in the top five.
Covid ActNow — the research project of Stanford Medicine, Georgetown University and the Harvard Global Health Initiative — continues to rank Rhode Island as “Severe Outbreak” and ranks Rhode Island only behind California, Tennessee, and Arizona respectively. Rhode Island's average number of cases has decreased.
California in Crisis
“Health officials in hard-hit Los Angeles County issued their most dire warning yet about the coronavirus, saying Monday that hospitals are at risk of running out of space, especially with the looming threat of a Christmas-fueled surge,” reports the LA Times.
LA county could top 10,000 deaths within just days.
“Hospitals are so inundated that they’ve resorted to placing patients in conference rooms or gift shops. Some are contending with aging and insufficient infrastructure that threatens to interrupt the flow of life-saving oxygen,” adds the LA Times.
RI's Data Mixed, But Christmas and New Years Impact Looms
Hospitalizations in Rhode Island have dropped to 412 — although there are growing concerns that Christmas travel will spark another surge in cases both in the United States and in Rhode Island. Deaths in Rhode Island have risen to 1,742 after 38 deaths over the extended weekend.
But public health experts -- including former RI Director of Heath Dr. Michael Fine -- warn about the potential impact of Christmas travel and gatherings as well as New Year's celebrations.
Fine said that he expects to see hospitalizations in Rhode Island to significantly increase in January as a result of the holidays.
Airports reported the highest level of travel since the spring and in Rhode Island, Raimondo lessened restrictions after ending the pause.
Across the country, the United States is headed to 20 million cases within the next week and the country has now suffered more than 335,000 deaths.
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