Those numbers compared with FridayвЂ™s reported totals of 352 in the hospital, 76 in intensive care and 51 on ventilators. Of those, 80 were in intensive care, with 54 on ventilators. The department also reported 333 people with COVID-19, the respiratory ailment caused by the coronavirus, were in the hospital.

The number of new cases was down from 341 reported Friday, but the number of people whose deaths were reported rose from 13 on Friday. On its website, the department also reported 327 new cases, raising the total during the pandemic to 9,289. вЂњThis is our topmost priority, being able to address the fact that we have a precious older population and a virus that transmits very easily when people are close together,вЂќ Alexander-Scott said. Of 296 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Rhode Island so far, about 215 - or more than 70% - have been residents of nursing homes. Nicole Alexander-Scott said that one of those people who died was in their 40s, one was in their 50s, two in their 60s, five in their 70s, four in their 80s and four in their 90s.ДЇifteen of the 17 coronavirus deaths reported on Saturday were residents of congregate-care settings, a category that includes nursing homes. вЂњWhat we do know is that itвЂ™s likely to be one of those two courses, and itвЂ™s not likely to start moving upward again.вЂќД«efore the briefing, the state Health Department reported 17 more coronavirus-associated deaths, raising Rhode IslandвЂ™s death toll during the pandemic to 296 people. вЂњThe truth is, weвЂ™re not exactly sure if we will have a sustained plateau with an eventual decline, or more of a traditional bell curve,вЂќ Raimondo said. Some other states had seen sharp declines after plateauing others, like Massachusetts, remained stubbornly high for weeks. Rhode Island is still at a plateau right now, Raimondo said. The other showed a more gradual decline in people in the hospital with COVID-19, remaining at a high plateau for longer. The lines are roughly symmetrical, creating a shape like a bell. One line projected a sharp decline in current hospitalizations, nearly mirroring the sharp increases the state saw in March and April. вЂњIf, in two weeks from today, we see a spike that leads to people getting sicker, itвЂ™s because we went out this weekend on a beautiful weekend and got together when we really shouldnвЂ™t,вЂќ Raimondo said.ДЄ second chart showed where the state could go in the next two weeks. Two weeks is significant, because it takes about that long for someone who is exposed to the coronavirus to show symptoms of COVID-19 and to get tested for it, state officials say.

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