Latest Alerts & Guidance

We know that vaccination, masking, physical distancing, testing, and keeping kids home when they have symptoms can help protect students and staff in Pre K-12 schools from COVID-19. 

COVID-19 testing for students and staff is available at test sites in your community and in Pre K-12 schools. Contact your child’s school or district if you have specific questions about their testing programs, guidance, or protocols. Learn more at covid.ri.gov/PreK12testing. 

For more information about the return to 100% in-person learning in Rhode Island’s schools, visit back2schoolri.com. 

Rhode Island has a doctor-recommended treatment for COVID-19 that's fast, easy, and highly effective. If you test positive for COVID-19, are age 12 or older, started having mild to moderate symptoms in the last 10 days, and are at high risk for progressing to severe disease, immediately call your healthcare provider and ask about treatment. The earlier you start treatment, the more effective it is.

Whether or not you're vaccinated, you're still required to wear a mask in some settings. 

RIDOH recommends wearing a mask indoors near anyone you don't live with. If you're fully vaccinated, this is only when community spread is substantial or high.

RIDOH also recommends wearing a mask outdoors in crowded places or during activities where you’re near people who are not fully vaccinated. Close contact means you’ve been within six feet of someone with COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more in a 24-hour period.

COVID-19 vaccine is now one of the many vaccines that healthcare providers and healthcare workers are required to receive. Rhode Island regulations (216-RICR-20-15-8) require that healthcare providers and healthcare workers have received a complete series of COVID-19 vaccine (one dose of Johnson & Johnson, two doses of Pfizer or Moderna) by October 1, 2021.  

For more information on the regulation, actions healthcare facilities need to take, and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit this page (covid.ri.gov/vaxrequirement).

If you have a question that is not captured in the current Frequently Asked Questions document, please send us a message. Legal questions may not be answered as facilities and employees should review legal questions internally with their legal counsel. 

Third doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are available to certain Rhode Islanders who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.

If you are eligible, you can get your third dose at any of the places where vaccine is currently available.

Eligible people should get their third dose at least 28 days after their second dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

For more information on getting a third dose, visit COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs.

COVID-19 Vaccine booster doses are available for people who got Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and who are:

• Age 65 and older

• Age 18 and older and have underlying medical conditions

• Age 18 and older who work in high-risk settings

• Age 18 and older who live in high-risk settings

Eligible people should wait at least 6 months between their second dose of Pfizer and their booster dose. For more recommendations and information, visit covid.ri.gov/boosterdoses

Most COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island are now the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) of the virus. The Delta variant is much more aggressive than other variants we’ve seen because it spreads more easily and more quickly and may cause more serious illness. Some vaccinated people can get the Delta variant of COVID-19, but most hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated.

Getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, and weekly testing are more important than ever to stop the Delta variant from spreading and to protect the progress we’ve made. Learn more at covid.ri.gov/variants.

Many Rhode Islanders living in specific geographies have experienced higher rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths throughout the pandemic. Such differences are directly connected to the social conditions in which some communities of color are more likely to live and work every day, and to systems of structural racism and discrimination that have historically undermined the health and well-being of these communities. 

RIDOH believes reaching high vaccination rates across all individuals and communities regardless of ZIP code is key to saving lives and achieving broader population immunity. Learn about Rhode Island's Hard-Hit Community Vaccination Strategy.  

Monday – Friday: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday – Sunday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Phone: 401-222-8022
After hours: Call 211

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