september 3: rhode island's positivity rate for covid-19 drops below 1 percent, with then-governor raimondo stating it was a "banner day" for the state, as 8,500 tests were conducted in a single day. september 14: rhode island public schools open for the academic year. while most students attend in-person learning, around 25% of students choose to start the year with distance learning. september 18: providence college reports 120 positive covid-19 cases over the last three days and switches to remote learning for at least the next week while the college goes into lockdown. as of this date, over 200 covid-19 cases in the state are affiliated with rhode island colleges. september 25: rhode island removes 249 covid-19 cases from its cumulative case count due to duplicate positive cases. september 30: rhode island reports 192 positive cases of covid-19, with 173 of the tests coming from september 29. this is the highest single-day case count since may 29. at her weekly news conference, then-governor raimondo claims that the "spike" in cases is coming from those aged 19–24, but decides to allow trick-or-treating on halloween. october october 15: rhode island reports 274 covid-19 cases, both from the prior day and cases added on to earlier dates. consequently, raimondo enforces new measures to help limit the spread of covid-19: businesses' break rooms will be closed for 90 days, police presence will be tripled on halloween, people will be fined $500 if they attend gatherings of more than 15 people. october 23: rhode island hits a new one-day record for the most recorded covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic: 524 cases. the number of total positive cases surpasses 30,000. november november 5: rhode island hits another new one-day record for the most recorded covid-19 cases: 566 cases. raimondo issues some new restrictions: a voluntary stay-at-home advisory during night hours, the closing of facilities 10 pm on weeknights and 10:30 pm on weekends, and public gathering restrictions: 50% capacity for indoor gatherings and 66% for outdoor gatherings. november 13: as record-breaking cases continue to increase, rhode island records 1,091 total new positive cases, a record for a single day. it is also the first time that the state has recorded over 1,000 cases in a single day; the day before, there were a record 988 new cases. november 19: then-governor raimondo announces a two-week "pause" due to increasing cases, from november 30 (two days after thanksgiving) to december 13. gyms, bars, and casinos are ordered to close, restaurant capacity is reduced to 33%, houses of worship are reduced to 25% capacity, companies are ordered to maximize work from home, and social gatherings with multiple households are prohibited. high schools are reduced to 25% capacity, with special-needs, english language learners, and at-risk students prioritized for in-person learning. november 30: then-governor raimondo issues statewide wireless emergency alerts, warning that hospitals had reached capacity and urging residents to stay at home, work remotely, avoid social gatherings, and get tested for covid-19. the first patients are admitted to dedicated covid-19 non-icu facilities at a field hospital in cranston and another at the rhode island convention center. december december 3: as hospitalizations continue to grow, rhode island records 1,717 additional cases in a single day, another new record. the number of total positive cases surpasses 60,000. december 6: msnbc reports that rhode island leads the nation in cases per capita over the last seven days. december 14: the first doses of the pfizer-biontech covid-19 vaccine are distributed among rhode island hospitals to high-risk health care workers. december 17: as more health care workers receive their initial doses of the pfizer-biontech covid-19 vaccine, then-governor raimondo announces at her weekly news briefing that the number of doses of the covid-19 vaccine will be "unexpectedly reduced" through next week with no clear explanation being provided by operation warp speed. december 21: rhode island surpasses 80,000 total covid-19 cases. through updates of earlier data released on this day, rhode island records a single-day fatality high (consisting of 25 deaths) occurring eight days prior; furthermore, hospitalizations decrease from 459 to 429 over the weekend. december 22: the first doses of the moderna covid-19 vaccine in the state are received by lifespan. these first doses were distributed among rhode island hospital, newport hospital, and miriam hospital. january january 4: as hospitalizations continue to slightly decline and rhode island surpasses 90,000 covid-19 cases, the first people start to receive their second doses of the pfizer covid-19 vaccine. allan fung, former mayor of cranston, tests positive for covid-19. he was expected to swear in kenneth hopkins, his successor as mayor, that same day. january 11: rhode island surpasses a "significant milestone": 100,000 total covid-19 cases. february february 22: the rhode island department of health adds additional 81 deaths to the state's covid-19 death count due to recent confirmation of these deaths being affiliated with covid-19. march march 1: rhode island marks one year since its first covid-19 case. march 2: daniel mckee ascends to the governorship upon the resignation of gina raimondo upon her joining the cabinet of the biden administration. march 8: the newport st. patrick's day parade is canceled for the second consecutive year. the parade committee plans to hold a postponed parade in september, pending city council approval. in may, newport mayor jeanne-marie napolitano said the parade would likely not be held in the fall, not because of covid-19 related restrictions, but due to lack of preparation time and because other events, such as weddings, may conflict with a september parade date. march 18: rhode island governor dan mckee and the newport folk and jazz festivals announce that the festivals will be held in the summer as planned, in a scaled-down form with modified capacity. april april 12: rhode island opens covid-19 vaccines to anybody at least 40 years old and to individuals at least 16 years old in certain zip codes, with the majority from providence county. april 13: rhode island temporarily halts the distribution of the janssen covid-19 vaccine "out of an abundance of caution", as six recipients develop a severe blood clot after getting the vaccine. april 19: rhode island opens covid-19 vaccines to anybody at least 16 years old. at this time, individuals 16 or 17 years old can only get the pfizer-biontech covid-19 vaccine. april 26: rhode island resumes use of the johnson & johnson vaccine. april 29: governor mckee announces that rhode island beaches will open to "full capacity" in the summer, with masks being mandatory in crowded areas. may may 7: the seven-day rolling average of new covid-19 cases in rhode island drops below 200 cases for the first time since mid-october 2020. rhode island eases numerous covid-19 restrictions; for example, businesses and venues can operate at 80% capacity, larger social gatherings are allowed (25 people indoors, 75 outdoors), and bars can stay open past midnight. may 9: rhode island surpasses 1 million covid-19 vaccinations. may 10: the number of people hospitalized for covid-19 at any given time drops to under 100 for the first time since early october 2020. may 11: rhode island authorizes the pfizer-biontech covid-19 vaccine for individuals 12 to 15 years old. may 17: as of this date, at least 500,000 rhode islanders have been fully vaccinated. may 18: fully vaccinated rhode islanders are no longer required to wear masks or socially distance in most circumstances, with the exception of hospitals, schools, and public transportation. may 21: most of the state's covid-19-related restrictions to businesses are lifted by governor mckee. stores, restaurants, gyms, and churches can operate at 100% capacity, limits are removed from funeral and catered event capacity, and bars resume standing-only service. nightclubs will remain at 50% capacity until all patrons can prove they are vaccinated. june june 11: governor mckee extends rhode island's state of emergency until july 9, stating that the order is still in place because it "responds not only to the pandemic itself, but its after effects". june 14: as of this date, there were no deaths attributed to covid-19 in rhode island for eight consecutive days. june 18: mckee removes capacity restrictions on live performances, nightclubs, saunas and hookah bars. june 21: for the first time since march 14, 2020, there are no new hospital admissions for covid-19. june 26–27: due to fewer tests being conducted, rhode island closes 13 of its 38 covid-19 testing sites over a two-day span. june 30: six rhode island national guard members are given the theodore conrad hascall award for their roles in responding to the covid-19 pandemic: administering vaccinations, running testing sites, and setting up field hospitals. july july 1: rhode island becomes the fifth state to vaccinate at least 70% of its eligible adult population against covid-19. july 5: the bristol fourth of july parade is held with a full crowd and no covid-19 related restrictions. july 6: as of this date, 60% of rhode island's population has been fully vaccinated against covid-19. july 9: governor mckee terminates the state mask mandate and telemedicine insurance coverage requirement but extends the covid-19 emergency declaration through august 6. july 10: rhode island records its first covid-19 related death since june 29; the twelve day stretch is the longest period between deaths in the state since the pandemic began. july 10–11: the wickford art festival returns after being canceled in 2020 due to covid-19. while no covid-19 related restrictions are enforced, the number of artists that contributed to the festival decreases by about 20 percent. july 21: rhode island reports 91 new cases of covid-19, the largest single day total since may. the state also reports that 650,000 rhode islanders are fully vaccinated. july 23–28: the newport folk festival is held with covid-19-related protocols: proof of vaccination or negative test is required, capacity is reduced by 50 percent, and a scheduling format that spreads its lineup across six days as opposed to one weekend. artists that appeared at the festival include beck, randy newman, jason isbell, and lucy dacus. july 30: the newport jazz festival begins, enforcing covid-19 related protocols similar to those of the folk festival, but is held in its traditional three-day format as opposed to the folk festival's six-day format. artists that appeared include mavis staples, christian mcbride, kamasi washington, and charles lloyd. august august 2: for the first time since may 2021, rhode island reaches an average of over 100 new covid-19 cases / 100,000 people over a seven-day span, characterizing the state as having a "high transmission" of covid-19 by the centers for disease control (cdc) standards. august 10: governor mckee announces that all rhode island health care workers will need to be fully vaccinated by october 1. on the same day, mckee says there is "no plan" to enforce an indoor mask mandate despite a rise in hospitalizations. august 11: rhode island becomes the state with the largest number of covid-19 cases per capita. as of this date, about 14.8% of the population has contracted covid-19 during some point of the pandemic. august 12: governor mckee's administration announces that masks will be required for state employees and visitors inside state buildings "until the state experiences a marked and sustained decline in the transmission of covid-19". august 16: as case numbers continue to rise from the delta variant, rhode island reopens two of its covid-19 testing sites due to "increased demand". providence mayor jorge elorza announces that all providence city workers will need to be vaccinated against covid-19 by october 1. if an individual chooses to not get vaccinated, they will need to submit a negative covid-19 test result each week. august 19: governor mckee issues an executive order to mandate masks in all schools for the fall. this order comes two days after mckee says that while he supports a statewide mask mandate for schools, individual communities should decide whether a mask mandate is necessary. august 20: providence mayor jorge elorza announces that pvdfest, an arts festival located in downtown providence that often attracts 100,000 people a year, is canceled due to growing covid-19 concerns fueled by the delta variant. the event was scheduled to take place september 25–26. the providence performing arts center holds a concert by john cafferty and the beaver brown band and southside johnny and the asbury jukes, which marks the first ticketed event held at the center