5 Major Coronavirus Developments - More Data Problems in RI
GoLocalProv News Team
5 Major Coronavirus Developments - More Data Problems in RI
Over the weekend, Rhode Island reported over 900 new cases and an increase of the positivity rate to 4.7%.
Schools and businesses depend on the data, but the Rhode Island Department of Health says updated numbers won't be available until the end of this week - nearly 3 weeks since the last update and during a major outbreak.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“We’re hoping to have the updated numbers up later this week. We’re doing some data cleaning,” says Joseph Wendelken, spokesperson for the RIDOH.
RIDOH has not updated city and town numbers since October 10, all while Rhode Island’s overall numbers are hitting record highs.
Breakouts Hitting Communities -- With No Local Data
Over the weekend another Rhode Island school was shut down to in-school learning. Governor Aram J. Pothier Elementary School and Citizens Memorial Elementary School in Woonsocket closed in-classroom learning and was forced to full distance learning this week after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
Last week, GoLocal reported Stadium Elementary in Cranston was shutdown. Two weeks before a Pawtucket school was shut down.
Without data, city and town leaders cannot track outbreaks and in some cases, data is being lumped together by the state. In Central Falls, the outbreak at the Wyatt Detention Center is being lumped into the Central Falls data.
Other Data Issues
As GoLocal reported, Rhode Island’s testing reporting is lumping symptomatic with both asymptomatic testing going on at the colleges and universities and the general population.
Approximately half of the daily testing results are now asymptomatic testing which have very little disease infection.
The lack of being able to track real-time whether a test is asymptotic or symptomatic is a significant data error according to former Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Michael Fine, who helped both Central Falls and Pawtucket create their reporting systems and both can real-time track the different tests.
According to Wendelken, the state can only separate the asymptotic test results from symptomatic after the tests have been conducted and through staff work. “We get the information through case investigations (interviews),” he told GoLocal.
5 Major Coronavirus Developments - More Data Problems in RI
Colleges and University Might Be the Safest
Across board, colleges and universities in RI have little infection and a lot of testing.
College asymptomatic testing accounted for more than a third of the state’s weekend testing. Of the 32,570 tests, 11,161 were conducted by the schools, and all of the colleges combined only had 27 positive cases over the three days.
Pfizer Vaccine Progress
Pfizer’s late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial has enrolled more than 42,000 volunteers, the company announced Tuesday when it released a mixed third-quarter earnings report.
CNBC reports: Nearly 36,000 of the volunteers have already received the second of the company’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine, the company said. Pfizer has as been working alongside German drugmaker BioNTech on the experimental vaccine. It contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, which scientists hope provokes the immune system to fight the virus.
Record Number of New Cases in U.S. on a Monday
Testing is usually slower on the weekends, and the United States hit a record number of new cases for a Monday - more than 70,000 -- another indicator of the spread of the virus.
Do Antibodies Wear Out
"A large English study showed the number of people with Covid-19 antibodies declined significantly over the summer, suggesting that getting the virus might not confer long-lasting immunity from future infection," reports the Wall Street Journal.
"The survey of 365,000 adults in England who tested themselves at home using a finger-prick test showed the proportion of people testing positive for Covid-19 antibodies declined by 26.5% between June 20—12 weeks after the peak of infections in the country—and Sept. 28," reports WSJ.
Four Businesses Hit With Enforcement Action in RI
The COVID-19 Enforcement Task Force is a collaboration between the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) and Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR). Inspectors with the Task Force noted various violations at four businesses, including bars being accessible after 11 p.m., mingling customers being served at bars, failure to maintain separation at bars, and employees not wearing masks.
The four establishments that received orders and fines are:
- Levels Lounge, 1137 Broad Street, Providence
- LoVera V.I.P, 1266 Broad Street, Providence
- Vibe Lounge and Hookah Bar, 25 Broad Street, Pawtucket
- MamaJuana Restaurant, 905 Main Street, Pawtucket
