Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Rhode Island’s COVID-19 data reporting will go into effect next week. We will be transitioning from reporting COVID-19 data Monday through Friday to reporting data weekly, on Thursday afternoons. Other states have already moved in this direction. (For example, Massachusetts transitioned to weekly reporting in early July.) And the CDC is on a weekly reporting cadence for its assessment of community risk levels by county. This change is reflective of the larger shift Rhode Island has made from a pandemic response to endemic management, informed by COVID-19 data trends over a period of weeks. However, our data team and COVID-19 leadership team will still be reviewing hospitalization trends and other key metrics daily to monitor for any significant shifts. We have the ability to move back to daily reporting, should it be warranted at any point in the future.    

 

One last note on these monkeypox vaccination clinics this weekend. Pre-registration is required. All appointments have been taken. There is no vaccine at these clinics for walk-ups. Eligible people can get on a notification list for when additional vaccine comes into Rhode Island through a link on this page: health.ri.gov/monkeypox

 

Joseph Wendelken | Public Information Officer

Rhode Island Department of Health

 

 

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today in an abortion case for the first time since it overturned Roe v. Wade. The case is over whether Idaho's strict abortion restrictions conflict with a federal law requiring hospitals to provide patients emergency care. Idaho's law makes it a felony for physicians to perform most abortions except to save the life of the mother.        House Speaker Mike Johnson is visiting Columbia University today as the school faces massive protests against Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories. Hundreds of students have been protesting for days against the Biden administration's response to the Israel-Hamas war, calling for an end to support for Israel. Johnson's office says he plans to discuss what he sees as a "troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America's college campuses." Many of the protesters are also Jewish and reject claims the protests are anti-Jewish.        President Biden is praising the passage of a sweeping foreign aid package that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. Biden signed the 95-billion dollar package into law today and said it continues America's leadership around the world. He said shipments of military aid will begin flowing to Ukraine in a matter of hours as Kyiv is running low on munitions in its fights against Russia.        Over 131-million people live in areas of the U.S. with unhealthy air pollution levels. That's according to a new report from the American Lung Association. That's an increase of 12 million compared to last year. The pollution in these areas can raise the risk of things like lung cancer, asthma and pregnancy complications.        The national average price for a gallon of gas is holding steady. Triple A reports the average cost for a gallon of regular gas is still three-dollars-and-66-cents across the country. That's the same as it was a week ago, but 13 cents more than a month ago. The cheapest prices can be found in Mississippi at just three-oh-nine a gallon. Meanwhile, drivers in California are seeing the highest average at five-41.       A Belgian man with a rare condition that causes his body to produce alcohol is being acquitted of drunk driving. The condition is called auto-brewery syndrome. His lawyer told Reuters it's "another unfortunate coincidence" her client works at a brewery as well, but multiple doctors confirmed he has ABS.        

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