Rhode Island Coronavirus Cases Steadily Rise After Providence College Outbreak

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CBS/AP) – About a week after a COVID-19 outbreak at Providence College, the Rhode Island Department of Health reported Thursday that the number of new coronavirus cases in the state continues to rise, while the number of people hospitalized has reached its highest level in a month. The department reported 139 new confirmed cases in the state and four more virus-related deaths, for totals of more than 24,300 known case and 1,106 fatalities. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Rhode Island has risen over the past two weeks, from more than 85 on Sept. 9 to 117 on Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. As of Thursday, Providence College has reported more than 170 positive cases, with all but two cases being students. According to Providence College spokesman Steven Maurano, the source of the break is not known yet, but most of the positive cases are students who live off campus. The outbreak forced the school to switch to remote learning. Gov. Gina Raimondo on Wednesday blamed the Providence College outbreak, as well as the state’s aggressive testing program, for the rising number of cases. The number of people hospitalized with the disease was 94 as of Tuesday, the latest day for which the information was available, the highest single-day total since Aug. 25. Eight of those patients were in intensive care. The new cases reported Thursday were out of more than 9,700 tests, a positi...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Covid-19 Boston, MA Health News schools Syndicated CBSN Boston Coronavirus Providence College Rhode Island News Source Type: news