since the pandemic began. august 22: the rhode island department of health releases a tweet warning of the circulation of a fake form bearing its logo, which would exempt the holder from face-covering requirements. august 23: as of this date, 70% of rhode island's population has been at least partially vaccinated against covid-19. august 25: the providence performing arts center and eight other performance venues require for all visitors to wear a mask at all times. furthermore, each visitor must show proof of being fully vaccinated or submit a negative covid-19 test. september september 2: as of this date, 65% of rhode island's population has been fully vaccinated against covid-19. it is the fifth state to reach this milestone. september 4: waterfire providence returns after being canceled last year due to pandemic concerns. the event included a special tribute to "covid heroes", such as healthcare workers, first responders, and grocery store workers. september 7: governor mckee announces a 75-day extension from the october 1 deadline for workers at eleanor slater hospital and the rhode island veterans' home to become fully vaccinated. those that take this extension will be subject to temporary unpaid leave, and if they are still unvaccinated by the end of the 75-day extension deadline, they may be subject to "progressive discipline, up to and including termination for failing to meet legally mandated conditions of employment." september 13: brown university confirms that 82 individuals have tested positive for covid-19 within the last week, most of which are asymptomatic, leading to numerous restrictions and enforcements. for example, all individuals must get tested twice a week regardless of vaccination status, gatherings are limited to five people, and in-person dining is suspended. however, in-person classes will continue. september 15: the university of rhode island indefinitely postpones a concert by rapper polo g. the event was initially planned to take place on september 17. september 18: the providence st. patrick's day parade returns after being canceled in 2020 and postponed earlier in 2021 due to covid-19 concerns. september 27: of the fifty states over the last 14 days, rhode island has the lowest covid-19 death rate per capita and the joint fourth-lowest covid-19 hospitalization rate per capita. september 28: continuing to dominate in its covid-19 testing rates, rhode island becomes the first state to have a testing rate of over 5 tests per person. as of this date, only two other states have a testing rate over 4 tests per person and three other states have a testing rate of over 3 tests per person. the other 44 states have test rates less than 2.5 tests per person. october october 5: the number of people hospitalized for covid-19 in rhode island in any given day drops below 100 for the first time since august 13 and the number covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit drops below 10 for the first time since august 3. october 19: as of this date, 70% of rhode island's population has been fully vaccinated against covid-19. on this date, both rhode island and connecticut reach this milestone, with vermont being the only other state achieving this milestone. october 22: booster doses for the moderna and johnson & johnson doses become available for most rhode islanders 18 years and older. according to recent guidelines set by the cdc, any eligible individual seeking to take a moderna booster dose must have completed their primary vaccine series more than six months ago, for a johnson & johnson booster, this time frame is only two months. furthermore, the cdc is allowing fully vaccinated individuals to get any vaccine of their choice; i.e., they do not necessarily have to get the same vaccine they already received, but they must be eligible for whichever vaccine they want. october 25: as of this date, 90% of rhode islanders 18 years and older have been at least partially vaccinated against covid-19. october 26: two employees of the zambarano campus of eleanor slater hospital, located in burrillville, test positive for covid-19. consequently, the facility enforces stricter protocols, such as issuing a "no-visitation policy" and increasing levels of testing among employees. october 28: a federal grand jury indicts six rhode islanders for planning to apply for covid-19 related unemployment insurance benefits through several states, using the identities of other individuals without their permission. november november 4: the first covid-19 vaccines are administered to children aged 5 to 11 across rhode island. as of this date, individuals in this age group can only receive the pfizer vaccine with a smaller dose than the one administered to older age groups. november 5–7: the rhode island comic con is held in providence. the event was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic. an estimated 50,000 people attended the three-day event, and at which mask-wearing was compulsory. november 15: as of this date, 80% of rhode island's population has been at least partially vaccinated against covid-19. it is the seventh state to reach this milestone. november 16: rhode island reports 516 new cases, the highest new single-day case count since april 9. at the weekly state coronavirus briefing, gov. mckee and department of health director nicole alexander-scott encouraged all rhode islanders 18 or older to receive a booster shot of the covid-19 vaccine as winter approaches and more events begin to occur indoors. december december 1: gov. mckee announces that the state is creating an app called 401 health, which will be released within the next few weeks. according to the rhode island department of health, the app is capable of displaying vaccination status, including for international travel. for the first time since january 21, rhode island records over 1,000 new cases in a single day. december 7: for the first time since mid-february, the number of hospitalizations due to covid-19 in any given day exceed 200. december 8: as of this date, 75% of rhode island's population has been fully vaccinated against covid-19. it is the second state to achieve this milestone. december 9: rhode island surpasses 200,000 covid-19 cases. december 11: rhode island confirms its first case of the omicron variant. the individual, who lives in providence county and is in their 20s, recently returned from new york, which has at least 20 cases of the variant as of this date. the individual was symptomatic but was not hospitalized, and had completed their primary series of vaccinations, but had yet to receive a booster. in a statement, gov. mckee noted that "rhode island is prepared...this is not cause for panic". december 13: as of this date, 85% of rhode island's population has been at least partially vaccinated against covid-19. it is the sixth date to achieve this milestone. december 14: a team of researchers from brown university and rhode island hospital continue to develop a breath test, the bubbler, to detect covid-19. a clinical trial that took place between may 2020 and january 2021 indicated that the device is capable of detecting viral rna. if successful, this form of testing may become more prevalent than pcr testing, as pcr tests can give a positive test result months after infection, an issue that this device is attempting to fix. as of this date, the research team is working on patenting the product, with the date of submission for emergency use authorization being uncertain. december 15: gov. mckee announces a new plan to combat rising cases, hospitalizations, and fatalities in the state. starting on december 20, masks will be required in large venues, while smaller venues are allowed to choose whether to issue a mask mandate or a vaccine mandate. in addition, 100,000 rapid covid-19 tests will be distributed for free. with a second case of the omicron variant being identified, the rhode island department of health recommends for all individuals, including those who are fully vaccinated, to wear a mask indoors when "community spread is substantial or high". december 16: rhode island leads the nation in cases per capita over the last week. the last time this happened was in december 2020. december 21: the number of deaths resulting from covid-19 in rhode island exceeds 3,000. at his weekly press briefing, gov. mckee called this a "heartbreaking milestone", with the rhode island state house being lit up blue and gold on that night to honor those that died from the disease. december 22: due to a greater demand for testing, two additional covid-19 testing centers are opened: one at a bristol storefront and one at the newport wharf. both sites only offer rapid antigen testing and are walk-through sites. december 27: providence college mandates that all students receive a booster dose of a covid-19 vaccine before the start of the spring semester, which is set to begin on january 18. in addition, each student will be required to submit a negative test result within five days of returning to campus. rhode island records 2,379 new covid-19 cases, a new single-day record and the first time the state recorded over 2,000 single-day cases. december 28: providence mayor jorge elorza announces that all providence employees will be required to be vaccinated, including a booster dose, by the end of february, with no testing alternative being enforced. those that do not become vaccinated or have an approved exemption will lose their jobs. lieutenant gov. sabina matos announces that she tested positive for covid-19 from two rapid tests on separate days. she encouraged rhode islanders to get their booster doses, claiming that the additional shot is the reason why her symptoms are mild. december 29: for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, rhode island has a weekly case rate of over 1,000 cases / 100,000 individuals: 1,066.5 per 100,000. this equates to over 1% of the population in rhode island contracting covid-19 in the last week. december 31: a memo goes out to employees at eleanor slater hospital, saying that covid-19-positive employees will be allowed to work as long as there is a staffing crisis. employees will be required to wear n95 masks and must be asymptomatic. january january 1: the eleanor slater hospital declares a staffing crisis, allowing any employee that has tested positive for covid-19 with mild or no symptoms to work. employee protocols are consistent with those outlined in the memo from the previous day and from the rhode island department of health and the cdc. january 2: for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, rhode island has a weekly case rate of over 2,000 cases / 100,000 individuals: 2,033.6 per 100,000. this equates to over 2% of the population in rhode island contracting covid-19 in the last week. this rate is double that from four days prior, and about three times larger than the peak rate from rhode island's winter surge of 2020–2021. january 4: gov. mckee remobilizes about 180 of rhode island's national guard members to support vaccination and testing efforts throughout the state. some of these members are "on the ground" in central falls, since it has recently seen long lines at testing sites and extremely high case rates. january 5: rhode island shortens the waiting period to receive a pfizer-biontech covid-19 booster dose from six months to five months. this change aligns with recently changed cdc guidelines. at least 400 rhode islanders are hospitalized from covid-19 on this date; this has not happened on any given day since mid-january 2021. january 6: for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, rhode island has a weekly case rate of over 3,000 cases / 100,000 individuals: 3,018.6 per 100,000. this equates to over 3% of the population in rhode island contracting covid-19 in the last week. january 10: as of this date, 90% of rhode island's population has been at least partially vaccinated against covid-19. it is the fourth state to achieve this milestone. the rhode island department of health issues a mandate requiring that all visitors to nursing homes and assisted living facilities either be vaccinated or test negative before visiting. regardless of vaccination status, all visitors will be required to wear masks. january 13: nicole alexander-scott announces her resignation as the director of the rhode island department of health. she will remain in the position for the next two weeks and then will move into a consultation role for the next three months. in a