PROVIDENCE – Vaccinated and unvaccinated people in Rhode Island will no longer need to wear masks outdoors starting Wednesday, Gov. Daniel J. McKee and the R.I. Department of Health announced.
The Tuesday announcement is a policy change from last month when McKee said Rhode Island would as of May 18 no longer would require fully vaccinated people to wear masks either indoors or outdoors. The removal of the outdoor mask mandate, McKee and RIDOH said, applies to all ages and outdoor settings, including live performances, youth sports and summer camps.
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While unvaccinated people can refrain from wearing masks outdoors, they are still strongly encouraged to wear masks in crowded outdoor settings or during activities in which people are less than 6 feet apart, McKee and RIDOH said. Also, people who are not fully vaccinated should continue wearing masks indoors, McKee and RIDOH said. Fully vaccinated people have the option to be unmasked indoors.
The announcement from McKee and RIDOH comes as daily cases continue to drop. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by 95 from May 28 through Monday, with four new deaths in that period, according to RIDOH on Tuesday.
On Monday, there were only four cases of COVID-19 identified in Rhode Island, although the number of tests administered was also low. The number of new cases is the lowest single-day total since March 16, 2020.
Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients in the state total 49, a decline from 66 prior to the weekend. Of those hospitalized, 11 are in intensive care, a decline of three from before the weekend, and nine are on ventilators, the same number from before the weekend.
As of Tuesday, there were 554,636 individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Rhode Island. There have been 1.16 million total COVID-19 doses administered in the state to date.
There have been 151,844 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Rhode Island, an increase of 101 from figures reported May 28, accounting for the day-to-day increases, as well as data revisions for previous days.
Deaths due to the virus in Rhode Island total 2,712.
There were 1,165 tests processed in the state on Monday, with an overall positive rate of 0.3%. When excluding both repeat positive and repeat negative test results, the positive rate was 1.8%.
There have been 4.3 million tests administered in the state to 930,247 individuals.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
