COVID Update: Week of Nov. 28 – Dec. 4

December 7, 2021

Following the Thanksgiving break, URI saw a significant increase in cases of COVID-19 during the week of Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, with 54 positive cases identified through URI testing (44 students, 10 faculty/staff/affiliate) and 11 additional positive student cases reported through outside testing.  Notably, this included 20 cases among members of our community who are not fully vaccinated, resulting in a 7-day incidence rate of over 1,600 cases per 100,000 for our unvaccinated population.  To date during the fall 2021 semester, approximately 11% of unvaccinated students have contracted COVID-19, compared to 1.7% of the fully vaccinated student population.

Weekly Results

Weekly tests:3,767 tests through URI Health Services, including 407 symptomatic tests. 
Positive cases:54 positive cases from URI testing, 11 additional cases reported to URI from external testing, 19 unvaccinated, 1 partially vaccinated, 45 vaccinated. 
Weekly Positivity:7-day positivity rate of 1.6%, up from 0.5% during the last full week of testing (11/14-11/20/2021). This remains below the RI positivity rate of ~5.3% 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 1,674 per 100,000, up from ~400 per 100,000 reported for the week prior to the Thanksgiving break.  The 7-day incidence rate of COVID-19 among the vaccinated URI population was 247 per 100,000 during this period.  The RI 7-day incidence for this period was ~565 cases 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.  Testing information is available here.

Visit the URI COVID-19 Tracker for detailed information from our testing program.  The dashboard is updated daily as results become available.