Governor Dan McKee and Administration officials announced the COVID-19 reopening guidelines effective May 21.
“The number of Rhode Islanders fully vaccinated and those with at least one dose – more than 400,000 Rhode Islanders – puts the Ocean State in a strong position to reopen safely on May 21, a week earlier than originally planned,” Governor McKee said. “We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reset Rhode Island and I trust that our business community and neighbors will respond respectfully and courteously as we navigate this next phase.”
The provided guidance is safer to adopt for fully vaccinated individuals. Establishments may (but are not required to) supplement these rules with their own rules regarding mask wearing, proof of vaccination, testing, and other mitigations. Signage guiding expectations around the following topics is recommended at establishments. As of Friday, May 21, the following adaptations, by sector, will be effective:
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Less than 100 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Rhode Island. (Rachel Nunes/Patch)
PROVIDENCE, RI Things are looking up in Rhode Island. The last week continued the state s now month-long decline in coronavirus cases, new hospitalizations and percent positivity rate. For the first time in recent memory, the state is within spitting distance of having all three of those key indicators within safe thresholds though spitting still isn t considered a safe activity. Over the last week, Rhode Island reported just 117 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people, just 17 cases higher than the safe threshold of 100 or fewer.
That s a big step forward for the state, since case numbers have been an area of concern for pretty much the entire pandemic in Rhode Island. Because the state has consistently had high testing numbers, cases numbers have remained high, as well, even as the percent positivity rate fell during last summer s reprieve.
Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Health are announcing that Rhode Island’s masking and social distancing requirements will be updated on Tuesday, May 18th to align with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also announced that Rhode Island will be moving up its reopening timeline from May 28th to May 21st.
On Thursday, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where they are still required to do so by state officials, local officials, workplaces, or businesses. People are fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after receiving a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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Appointments are no longer required at the Dunkin Donuts Center. (Rachel Nunes/Patch)
RHODE ISLAND Coronavirus vaccinations will be available to both Rhode Island residents and to visitors to the state, Gov. Dan McKee and health officials announced Thursday.
The new policy is set to take effect Monday.
McKee, along with health department officials, said the new policy will override the state s former prohibition on vaccinating people who did not live or work in The Ocean State to be vaccinated.
Subscribe This is a win-win for Rhode Island. We re making sure that travelers who are in Rhode Island are getting protection from COVID-19, which keeps us all safer, and we re marketing Rhode Island to travelers as a state that is doing everything possible to make vacationing safe, McKee said in a statement. To Rhode Islanders 16 and older who have not been vaccinated yet, go out and get your shot today.