Rhode Island on Verge of Third Coronavirus Wave
Sunday, March 28, 2021
It is potentially the worst possible news. The combination of the spread of the variants and the decisions by Governors Gina Raimondo and Dan McKee to roll back restrictions has Rhode Island on the verge of yet another upswing -- potentially the third wave of coronavirus cases.
Data from Covid ActNow shows that for the past two weeks, the state's cases per 100,000 residents have continued to rise. Friday’s case number of 36.9 now matches the highest first wave high number hit on April 26, 2020.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) officials reported that on both Thursday and Friday’s number of new cases was over 400.
Dr. Michael Fine said on GoLocal LIVE on Friday, "The best thing that we can do to prevent the spread of variants is to do what we have to do presently to prevent the spread of disease, and we're not doing that well, either -- we don't have a coherent testing process for anybody exposed to others."
Rhode Island's testing presently been inconsistent, hitting lows of 5,000 some days and highs of nearly 20,000 on others.
Fine has repeatedly said that it is critical to conduct testing, contact tracing, isolation, and quarantining when the spread is limited -- in order to control the virus and limit community outbreaks.
"Again -- use isolation and quarantine to stop disease transmission. I haven't heard about isolation or quarantine [from state officials] in like six months," said Fine, the former Rhode Island Director of Health.
Cases on the Rise
Across the country, cases are now on the upswing.
On both Friday and Saturday, the New York Times reported increases in the 14-day average and new cases exceeded 70,000 on both days.
With vaccinations hitting daily record highs and now more than 15% of Americans fully vaccinated and 28% partially vaccinated, there is growing concern that the variants are moving faster than the vaccination programs.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious disease expert, warned that variants of the coronavirus could account for up to 30 percent of infections in the U.S.
“This variant, as you know, is every day getting more and more dominant in our own country,” Fauci said.
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