Rhode Island confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, signaling that the public health threat is continuing to spread beyond the West Coast.
The Rhode Island Department of Health confirmed the state’s first “presumptive positive” case on Sunday in a patient in his or her 40s, who traveled to Italy in mid-February.
“The Rhode Island Department of Health has been preparing for weeks to ensure that we have a structure in place to, to the best of our ability, limit or prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Rhode Island. We fully anticipated having a first case of COVID-19,” Dr. Alexander-Scott at the RIDOH said.
The patient had limited travel when he or she returned from Italy, which is seeing a surge in coronavirus infections of its own, having confirmed at least 1,000 cases. News of Rhode Island’s first case comes just a day after three other cases were confirmed in the United States, making a total of 71 across the country.
Newer cases to have appeared in the U.S. in California and Washington were spread among people who had not traveled to affected countries. Still, the majority of patients in the U.S. had returned from countries seeing an uptick in cases.
“We are not seeing widespread community transmission in Rhode Island, and the general level of risk for Rhode Islanders is still low,” Alexander-Scott said. “However, everyone in Rhode Island has a role to play in helping us prevent the spread of viruses, just like the flu. It is very important that people wash their hands regularly, cover their coughs and sneezes, and stay home if they are sick.”
The White House ramped up travel warnings Saturday, telling people to avoid travel to parts of Italy and South Korea. Meanwhile, President Trump has repeatedly told the public not to panic.
