PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — With the coronavirus apparently on the run in Rhode Island, the state is sending help to other areas of the world still battling the disease, officials said Monday.
Care New England’s COVID-19 Crisis Relief Effort and the Rhode Island Department of Health recently sent 200,000 COVID-19 tests to India, along with protective equipment, ventilators, medications and other medical supplies to be distributed to hospitals around Delhi.
“India’s hospitals and laboratories have been stretched to their limit as case counts in the nation reach an all-time high,” Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the state Department of Health, said in a statement.
The BinaxNOW rapid antigen tests can help health care professionals quickly identify positive COVID-19 cases and put them into isolation, she said. The test does not need to be sent to a lab and provides results in 15 minutes.
The tests were part of Rhode Island’s allotment from the federal government, and the state has enough remaining to sustain current testing volume.
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HEALTH DEPARTMENT DATA
The Rhode Island Department of Health on Monday reported 82 new confirmed coronavirus cases.
Nearly 70 were confirmed over the past three days, and the remainder were added to previous days’ totals.
There have now been more than 152,000 confirmed cases in the state.
There were no new virus-related deaths reported over the weekend.
Monday’s data is for three days because the department does not update on weekends.
The number of people in the hospital with the disease was 42.
More than 572,000 people in the state have now been fully vaccinated, the agency said.
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FOLK FESTIVAL RETURNS
The Rhode Island Folk Festival is making a comeback in 2021 after a one-year pause because of the coronavirus pandemic, festival organizers said Monday.
The free festival at Rose Larisa Park in East Providence is scheduled for Aug. 29.
The event — previously known as the Providence Folk Festival — has three music stages, food trucks and outdoor vendors. This year’s third stage is called the Emerging Artists Stage, which will feature short sets from some of the region’s up-and-coming singer-songwriters.
“I am so excited that we can hold this awesome festival again this year,” board President Allysen Callery said in a statement. “All of us are so thirsty for live music, and this day is always a highlight of the summer.”
Some of the acts scheduled to appear on the main stage this summer include Michelle Cruz, Cardboard Ox, What About Charlie and the Chris Monti Trio.
The Newport Folk and Jazz festivals previously announced that they would resume this summer after being canceled last year because of COVID-19.
