All of Rhode Island Now Considered Medium-Risk Area

Providence, Bristol, Kent, Newport, and Washington Counties are now considered medium-risk areas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 Community Levels risk assessment. CDC determines risk level using three metrics: new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days.

CDC determines risk level using three metrics: new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days.

If you are in a medium-risk area, RIDOH recommends taking additional precautions, including:

• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.

• If you are immunocompromised or high risk, have a plan for testing and talk to your healthcare provider about protecting yourself.

• If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk, consider self-testing and wearing a mask when indoors with them.

• When indoors in crowded settings, consider wearing a mask regardless of vaccination status. This is especially important for people who are immunocompromised.

• Get tested if you have symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

If you test positive:

• Talk to your doctor about treatment

• Stay home and use this calculator to determine how long you need to quarantine or isolate

• Use the RIDOH COVID-19 Survey to let people you were with know you tested positive.

• If you test yourself for COVID-19 at home, report your result to RIDOH at portal.ri.gov/s/selftest.

CDC’s full set of recommendation is available online.

Parents, Schools, and Child Care

Pre K-12 COVID-19 Data Dashboard

Find case and vaccination data for children, schools, and districts in Rhode Island at covid.ri.gov/kidsdata.

View Dashboard

Summer Camp 2022

Summer Camp programs in Rhode Island can find updated COVID-19 health and safety recommendations and resources here. We ask all summer camp programs to complete the short survey found here by May 30, 2022. Contact RIDOH with any questions at [email protected].

For the 2021-22 school year, Rhode Island schools are responsible for writing their own health and safety plans to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in schools.

Schools should follow the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) for COVID-19 mitigation prevention strategies.

In line with CDC guidance and RIDOH best practice, Rhode Island updated guidance for COVID-19 mitigation in schools which provides recommendations for approaches based on the level of statewide transmission in February 2022.

RIDOH shared updated quarantine and isolation guidance for Pre K-12 schools in January 2022. These updates reflect new data, science, and understanding of COVID-19 and Rhode Island schools and enhance the the Fall 2021 Guidance for Pre K-12 schools which was shared before the start of the year to help school districts plan for 100% in-person learning.

RIDOH updated its Outbreak Response Protocols Playbook for Pre K-12 in January 2022.

Child Care Programs

Eligible families can get assistance for equitable access to high-quality, safe, affordable child care. Eligible families can choose their own child care provider. RIDOH updated quarantine and isolation guidance and the outbreak response playbook for child care settings.

Five School and Child Care Safety Tips

Vaccinate everyone age 5 or older and stay up to date with their vaccinations.
- Find out why adolescents should get vaccinated for COVID-19.
- 10 reasons it is important to vaccinate kids age 5-11 against COVID-19.
Mask your kids to help stop the spread.
Wash hands frequently.
- Hand washing is one of the most simple and best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19, flu, and other infectious diseases.
- Protect your household from COVID-19.
Keep kids home if they have COVID-19 symptoms.
- COVID-19 symptoms screening tool for Pre K-12 and child care.
- After COVID-19 Return attestation.
Get tested as recommended.
- Test scheduling tips for Pre K-12 and child care.

COVID-19 and Children

Most children with COVID-19 have mild symptoms or they may have no symptoms at all (“asymptomatic”). Fewer children have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults.
Babies younger than one and children with certain underlying medical conditions may be more likely to have serious illness from COVID-19.
Some children who have had COVID-19 have developed a rare but serious disease called multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). Some doctors think the condition is related to having COVID-19, but the connection is still not clear. Learn more with the MIS-C Fact Sheet.
Tips on coping with stress from COVID-19.