RI Falls to 2nd in U.S. for Coronavirus Per Capita, 20 More Deaths, Testing Canceled on Thursday

RI Falls to 2nd in U.S. for Coronavirus Per Capita, 20 More Deaths, Testing Canceled on Thursday

It was more chilling news for Rhode Islanders as the pace of loss of life tied to the coronavirus continues to grow.

On Wednesday, there were 20 more deaths — this on top of 111 in the previous 7 days.

Rhode Island is now on pace to exceed 400 deaths for December and as hospitalizations remain at record level, January deaths are likely to be higher. About 1% of cases end in death in Rhode Island.

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Covid ACTNow now ranks Rhode Island second in the United States. On Wednesday, Tennessee surpassed RI as the highest infection rate — number of cases per capita.

Also, RI’s hospitalizations also jumped — now 469 are hospitalized.

And, Rhode Island reported an additional 972 cases.

Testing Changes With Approaching Storm

In anticipation of Winter Storm Gail, all state-run COVID-19 testing sites will be closed on Thursday, December 17.

State-run testing sites are the sites that people schedule at through portal.ri.gov, as well as all K-12 testing sites. Both indoor and outdoor sites are closing tomorrow.

When testing sites open again, people who had appointments for Thursday will not need to make new appointments. They can go to the site where their appointment was scheduled at any time with a print or screenshot of their confirmation notice, and they will be tested.

RIDOH will post information on social media and make additional announcements on when testing will resume.