2 coronavirus deaths over 3 days in RI

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — There were 237 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus and two additional deaths in Rhode Island over the past three days, the state Department of Health announced Monday.

There have now been more than 20,500 known cases of the disease and 1,023 virus-related fatalities in the state.

The number of people in the hospital with the disease was 80 as of Saturday, with 11 in intensive care.

The 7-day rolling average of daily new cases in Rhode Island has gone from 114 per day on Aug. 2 to 57.29 per day on Aug. 16, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

The 7-day rolling average of the positivity rate in the state has risen over the past two weeks from 4.99% on Aug. 2 to 5.33% on Aug. 16, according to Johns Hopkins.

JOB TRAINING

Rhode Island has launched an online portal to help adults seeking training and work during and after the coronavirus pandemic connect with educational opportunities.

The program, RI Reconnect, is a partnership between the state Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner and a grant from the Lumina Foundation.

“With RI Reconnect, adult students are matched with a navigator who will work with them to identify and meet their goals, whether that’s earning a certificate, a license for a trade, or finishing a college degree,” Tammy Vargas Warner, the agency’s assistant commissioner, said in a statement Monday.