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Your Coronavirus Update – April 13, 2021
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Photo: Veterans Coalition for Vaccination promotional campaign
The RIDOH website is down, and updated statistics are not available – check our Facebook page for data when it comes out.
7,600 additional COVID-19 vaccination appointments will be posted on www.vaccinateRI.org on Tuesday at 9 a.m. These appointments will be for the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, the State-run mass vaccination sites in Woonsocket, South County, and at Sockanosset Cross Road, and at the regional clinics in Johnston, Westerly, and East Providence. People who are 40 to 49 years of age are now eligible to register. Additionally, eligibility has been expanded to everyone 16 years of age and older in several harder hit ZIP codes. Those ZIP codes are 02895 (Woonsocket), 02893 (West Warwick), 02906 (Providence), 02910 and 02920 (Cranston), 02911 (North Providence), 02914 (East Providence), and 02919 (Johnston). These ZIP codes are in addition to the ZIP codes in Providence, Cranston, North Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls where eligibility has already been expanded (02860, 02861, 02863, 02904, 02905, 02907, 02908, and 02909).
Reminder: there is no charge for the vaccine or for a test, regardless of insurance status, to anyone.
A new RI grant program to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will use $20 million in CARES Act funds to give qualifying businesses $5,000 grants. The first round of applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis beginning, Thursday, April 15, 2021 through Friday, April 30, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. Future rounds and expansions of this program are possible depending upon demand and availability of funds. More information can be found at commerceri.com/reliefgrant.
The Equity group that held vaccination clinics this weekend released these numbers:
- 4/10 at the Dunk –3,031 doses (the most done on any day at the Dunk)
- 4/10 at Woonsocket – 1,138 doses
- 4/11 at Woonsocket – 1,173 doses
RI will receive about 2,000 less J&J shots this week than expected.
Rhode Island is #3 in most cases of coronavirus per capita among the 50 states over the last seven days, while being #1 for the most testing per capita. RI also has the fourth-most deaths per capita among the 50 states since the beginning of the pandemic.
PPAC director Singleton has said that the Broadway shows can’t come back unless it’s 100% seating. New York shows will require, by contract, for any state, including Rhode Island, is to assure the company that anyone they come into contact with will be fully vaccinated. Negative testing for attendees may also be required for attendees.
The City of Pawtucket has partnered with the Rhode Island Department of Health and the local branch of AccuReference Medical Lab, the provider who has spearheaded testing at McCoy Stadium since November of 2020, to host a mobile COVID-19 testing for the residents of Pawtucket this weekend. The test site will be held this Saturday, April 10th from 10am to 2pm at the Elizabeth Baldwin Elementary School, 50 Whitman Street in Pawtucket. www.PawtucketRI.com/Covid19
Barring any more positive COVID tests, the Portsmouth High football team will finally get back on the field Sunday, when its hosts Cranston East at 2 p.m.
Connecticut is planning to provide full access this summer to its outdoor recreation areas including state parks, campgrounds, shoreline beaches, boat launches and inland swimming spots.
A pop-up COVID-19 test clinic was in Providence on Friday, located right by the Van Leesten Pedestrian Bridge on South Water Street.
Al Fresco on the Hill – outdoor dining on Federal Hill – will begin with street closings on May 14th.
Plastic igloos for outdoor dining are coming under scrutiny for fire code issues. In particular, igloos made by Alvantor, do not comply with fire code guidelines. The RI Fire Marshall notes that fire codes are not being loosened in pandemic times.
Gov. McKee went to the Equity Vaccination Clinic in Providence on Saturday.
Block Island is now about 50% vaccinated – clinics are held once a week, as drugstores are not on the island. Residents credit the encouragement of medical workers on the Island that has resulted in their compliance.
Gov. Chris Sununu and top state health officials received their COVID-19 vaccine at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.
The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester is suspending all in-person activities — including in-person classes and athletics, closing the library, and banning others from campus — until at least Wednesday, April 14 due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
Governor Dan McKee will announce a new small business relief grant program for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday at 11am at Executive Cuts, downtown Providence.
Boston University to require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before fall semester
On Monday, any Rhode Islander 40 to 49 years of age will be eligible to register to get vaccinated. Additionally, on Monday, residents of 02893 (West Warwick), 02906 (Providence), 02910 and 02920 (Cranston), 02911 (North Providence), 02914 (East Providence), and 02919 (Johnston), age 16 and older will be eligible.
Eligibility is now open to Woonsocket residents, moved up from Monday, because that community has been harder hit. For the week of March 28th to April 3rd, Woonsocket had 128 new cases of COVID-19, an increase of 21% from the previous week. In addition, Woonsocket has the lowest vaccination coverage rate of any community where age eligibility has not yet been expanded.
Roughly 20,000 slots will open today at 5 p.m. on www.vaccinateRI.org for people who are currently eligible to register. (Roughly 1,000 of those appointments will be at the Woonsocket site.) People who cannot register online for an appointment at a State-run vaccination site can get help by calling 844-930-1779 or 2-1-1. In addition to appointments at State-run sites, people can get vaccinated at retail pharmacies and at local/regional vaccination sites.
People who are not eligible yet to get vaccinated against COVID-19 can pre-register by signing up for the Vaccine Interest Notification List at www.portal.ri.gov. People will be notified by email, text, or phone call when they are eligible and there is an available appointment.
Warming Blankets are still available at DiscoverNewport for any restaurant or outdoor venue to provide to your customers. Contact Julie Grant at [email protected] with the amount needed and they will be dropped off to your establishment.
Pop-Up Visitor Information Center at 21 Long Wharf Mall in Newport will open on Saturday, May 1. The 725 square-foot center will offer visitors and residents an array of destination information including lodging options, maps, and guides alongside brochures for local attractions, restaurants, transportation, shopping, and special events. The center will be open on weekends in May from 10am-5pm and will gradually extend to seven days per week in July, August and September. It will be open seasonally for the remainder of the year to promote tourism in Newport.
K-12 in New Bedford is back to in-person learning, 5 days a week. ½ the staff have been vaccinated. About 2,000 students opted to stay remote.
Participants in this year’s Boston Marathon, slated for Oct. 11, may be required to show proof of up to two negative coronavirus tests even if they’ve been vaccinated.
Nearly 40% of U.S. Marines who have been offered the COVID-19 vaccine have declined it,
Armando Bisceglia, the owner of Federal Hill restaurant BACCO and relentless advocate for the hospitality industry in Providence and beyond, is currently in the ICU after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-armando-beat-covid.
Vaccination Clinic – Tues, 4/13 – 2-7pm. Central Falls Housing Authority, 30 Washington Street, Central Falls. For RI residents 16+ old from zip codes: 02860-02861-02863-02904-02905-02907-02908-02909. Pre-registration and ID (students: school letter showing DOB, or birth certificate). NOTE: zip codes 02903 and 02906 are NOT eligible in this clinic. Register: https://www.vaccinateri.org/reg/1215917064. Questions: [email protected].
Masks are helpful to those who suffer from seasonal allergies – eye protection, too – while RI expects a tough allergy season, symptoms may be better because of these measures in place. This came from a report out of Israel, reported by NBC10.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
In the South, vaccine demand is slowing down – national experts say that if this happens around the country, and we don’t convince resistant groups to be vaccinated, we could spend years living through new variants — some of which might be more deadly, and some of which might be more resistant to vaccines.
Broadway actors are being vaccinated with a special clinic in NYC.
Michigan is surging with cases and turning to the federal govt for help in terms of more vaccine and tests, some calling for a test for every citizen to be mailed to them. Youth sports paused. No indoor dining for 2 weeks. 160 govt. personnel are coming, but federal govt is saying no more vaccine except by age priority. Many officials are saying we will have to respond to outbreaks like this wherever they occur.
South African variant has broken through Pfizer vaccine in people who had their first shot.
The CDC advised that there was very little chance of contracting Covid from surfaces, putting to rest an early misconception. “This is a virus you get by breathing”.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new policy: Starting next week, schools can remain open unless there are four or more confirmed cases in separate classrooms within a seven-day period.
The Supreme Court has shot down, 5-4, a California regulation limiting religious worship at home, the latest in a series of rulings in which the justices have found that coronavirus pandemic regulations violate the First Amendment’s protections of religion.
Alliance Healthcare, a national pharmacy chain in Portugal will stock COVID-19 tests at all their pharmacies.
The U.S. Naval Academy will hold its graduation and commissioning ceremony in person May 28 at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Coney Island opened this weekend in New York
This week, in Portugal, cafe and restaurant terraces, museums, non-food markets and fairs, small shops, middle schools and gyms were allowed to open their doors. Portugal has suffered 823,355 cases and 16,879 deaths, but infection rates have slowed. If the situation continues to improve, cinemas, shopping malls, restaurants’ indoor spaces and other non-essential businesses will reopen in two weeks’ time.
Pfizer now says young people over 12 can be vaccinated using their vaccine. Officials are considering this. The pharmaceutical company said in a statement it will seek similar rulings by other authorities around the world in the coming days. Acting FDA commissioner: Pfizer’s request to allow vaccine for adolescents will be reviewed ‘as quickly as possible’ »
There has been a decline in preterm births across the US during the pandemic. Early data may provide some insight into lifestyle changes such as working from home and remote access to healthcare. A number of changes during lockdown may have been associated with drops in the preterm birth rate. When most cars were off the roads, there may have been a decline in the number of preterm births associated with air pollution. Additionally, as pregnant people shifted to remote work and found themselves at home and off their feet, with a decline in physical stress.
Death certificates are still coming in and the count could rise, but officials expect a substantial decline will endure, despite worries that COVID-19 could lead to more suicides.
The Boston-based company’s “#ShotForSam” campaign starts April 12 and will be open to the first 10,000 participants. “Sam Adams hopes drinkers will get back to supporting the bars and restaurants they love. So, if you get vaccinated against COVID-19, we’ll buy your first beer back!” The company said it’ll send $7 through the Cash App to anyone who posts a photo of their vaccination sticker or bandage on Twitter or Instagram. Posts have to include #ShotForSam and tag the @SamuelAdamsBeer account.
Some Polish doctors and nurses are just taking naps between shifts as they fight a third wave of the coronavirus, the health minister said on Friday, amid reports of medical staff taking oxygen
Theme parks lost 41% of their staff, on the average, nationwide. They are expected to recover most of them in 2021.
Dr. Fauci says he hosts gatherings at home but still won’t go to crowded indoor places where people are maskless. And although the CDC now says vaccinated Americans can travel, Fauci is not planning any trips.
As millions of Americans are vaccinated each day, the beauty industry is poised for an unprecedented summer boom. People are already filling up the appointment books at salons and spas
In a comment about the Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country’s top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost.
Dentists, beauty appointments, summer camps, wedding venues, just about every vendor is overwhelmed with requests – coupled with low staff.
Regeneron is asking for approval to give to people exposed to the virus, who are not yet sick, and not yet vaccinated. This would give it preventive treatment, in addition to treatment for those who are sick with COVID-19.
The federal government is planning to deliver fewer than 800,000 Johnson & Johnson doses this week, down from 5 million that had been planned.
Back-to School Video from Joseph Case High School in MA: