Summary statement:
URI saw a significant increase in student cases of COVID-19 from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, with 70 positive cases identified through URI testing (69 students, 1 faculty/staff/affiliate) and 12 additional positive student cases reported through outside testing, representing an overall increase of 70 cases from the prior week. Most cases are occurring in the off-campus student population, with 61 of the 82 cases during this period. Contact tracing continues to identify social group and/or residential transmission for these cases, and a strong association with attendance at large off-campus parties held during the week leading up to Halloween. URI Health Services has also seen a significant increase in the number of confirmed influenza cases and students presenting with influenza-like viral illness.
| Weekly Tests: | 4,839 tests through URI Health Services, including 822 symptomatic tests. This is an increase of more than 2,220 tests over the prior week. |
| Positive Cases: | 70 positive cases from URI testing, 12 additional cases reported to URI from external testing, 19 unvaccinated, 63 vaccinated. |
| Weekly Positivity: | 7-day positivity rate of 1.74%, up from 0.49% the prior week. This remains below the R.I. positivity rate of ~2.3% for the same period. |
| Incidence: | The incidence of positive cases among members of our community with an approved medical/religious vaccination exemption rose significantly this week, to a semester high of 1,261 per 100,000, up from 63 per 100,000 reported for the prior week. The 7-day incidence rate of COVID-19 among the vaccinated URI population increased to 353 per 100,000 during this period. Both are above the R.I. 7-day incidence rate of ~175 per 100,000. |
The dramatic increase in the incidence rate for unvaccinated members of our community underscores the importance of vaccination as the most effective strategy to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our community.
It is strongly recommended that all members of our community, regardless of vaccination status, participate in weekly surveillance testing. Asymptomatic testing is available at no cost on weekdays. Click here to see the schedule.
In an effort to limit the spread of Influenza, URI is hosting weekly flu vaccination clinics during the month of November.
Visit the URI COVID-19 Tracker for detailed information from our testing program. The dashboard is updated daily as results become available.