McKee Provides Covid Update, Says Cases At “High Transmission Level”
"The bottom line is this: if you're eligible, get a booster."
PROVIDENCE, RI (WLNE) – Governor of Rhode Island Dan McKee issued a strong message Thursday afternoon: “The bottom line is this: if you’re eligible, get a booster.”
While the Governor says it’s “not time to panic” citing that hospitalizations now are at 226 compared to a staggering 491 in December of 2020, he does believe there is cause for concern and urged caution for those in high-risk settings. “We are seeing outbreaks at nursing homes and we are seeing a lot of cases among students.”
In a separate statement sent out earlier this afternoon, McKee urged residents to “take these next six weeks seriously,” and reminded Rhode Islanders that “all options are on the table in terms of mitigation strategies including reinstating an indoor mask mandate.”
According to the Department of Health, despite having over 95% of adults with at least one dose of the vaccine, data shows an average of 655 new cases per day with a total of 2,951 fatalities from the start of the pandemic. McKee acknowledged today that the state is currently behind on processing data from a high number of test results, seeing as many as 22,000 tests in one day. “Testing turnaround times must get back to where they used to be, and I’ve directed my team to make this a priority.”
During that press conference, McKee also announced the FDA approval of booster shots in young adults ages 16-17 and urged all eligible residents to “get that booster shot.”
