Rhode Island this week reported the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country, according to The New York Times. Driven by the rise of the more contagious Omicron subvariant, known as BA.2, the average daily increase in new COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island during the last two weeks has more than doubled, although […]
Omicron
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RI’s CharterCare hospitals performed elective surgeries while turning away patients from their ERs
During this winter’s COVID-19 surge, hospitals across Rhode Island and Massachusetts suspended all but the most urgent surgeries to free up staff and beds to care for the influx of patients. But not CharterCare Health Partners, which operates Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center. Even when their emergency departments were so […]
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Biden to send military personnel to help hospitals in Rhode Island as COVID-19 cases surge
Rhode Island is one of six states that will be receiving medical military personnel to help alleviate staffing shortages in hospitals, President Joseph Biden announced Thursday. Starting next week, 1,000 military medical personnel will begin arriving to help mitigate staffing crunches at hospitals across the country, including Rhode Island. A 23-person medical team — a […]
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Omicron surge forecast to peak in RI as early as this week
A forecasting model from a Brown University epidemiologist predicts that Rhode Island will see record high COVID-19 cases and hospitalization as early as this week. Health reporter Lynn Arditi spoke with John P. Fulton about the models he and his colleague at Brown’s School of Public Health developed for the state Department of Health. Dr. […]
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McKee orders indoor masking, proof of COVID-19 vaccinations starting Monday
Rhode Island is requiring that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks inside public spaces with a capacity of 250 people or more starting Monday. Restaurants, retailers, places of worship and other establishments with a capacity of under 250 people can allow patrons to go unmasked, if they show proof that they have been vaccinated […]
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First case of Omicron variant to COVID-19 identified in Rhode Island
The first case of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant has been identified in Rhode Island. The individual is a Providence County resident in their 20s who had recently returned from traveling in New York, Governor Daniel J. McKee and state health officials said in a statement Saturday. The individual had completed a primary vaccination […]
