We’re definitely doing a higher percentage of transports of patients, in our rescues, who are either suspected or confirmed cases of the virus.””

Bristol Fire Chief Michael DeMello

While Rhode Island’s urban clusters are causing the Ocean State to be considered one of the hottest zones on planet Earth for spread of the coronavirus, Bristol has been right there in the middle of some of the more severely impacted communities in the state — not the worst, but definitely not the best.

According to data maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Health and updated on Wednesday, Dec. 9, Bristol has been one of the hardest-hit suburban communities throughout the month of November and now into early December.

The statistic giving Rhode Island claim to one of the most severely impacted zones in the world is daily case rate, measuring the rate of people testing positive for the virus among 100,000 people. On Tuesday of this week, Rhode Island’s daily rate was 123 cases per 100,000 people, worst in America by a wide margin. Only Indiana, at 103 people per day, had a daily case rate over 100 per 100,000 people.

Rhode Island’s rate was calculated on a day when the state announced 982 new cases. On Wednesday, the number of new cases surged to 1,282, so Rhode Island’s world-leading daily case rate will rise even further.

The hardest-hit communities in Rhode Island have been Central Falls, Cranston, Providence and Pawtucket, and more recently, Johnston and East Providence. The least-impacted communities have been on Aquidneck Island, in Tiverton and Little Compton, and in South County, where rates of infection have been consistently below state averages.

Bristol and Bristol County have not fared so well. In the first week of November, Bristol’s rate of cases per 100,000 people rose to 310 — double what it had been the week before. In the second week of the month, it rose again, to 432 weekly cases. In the third week of November, the rate-per-100,000 people rose to 463, more than three times higher than the rate of spread in Portsmouth and 50 percent higher than the rates in both Barrington and Warren.

Bristol’s rate decreased in the last week of November, down to 225, which was more on par with both Barrington and Warren, but it shot back up again when the state released data on Wednesday of this week. Measuring cases from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, Bristol’s rate climbed up to 378, much higher than Portsmouth and about the same as Warren, which saw its infection rate more than double. At the same time, Barrington saw a major surge, with its rate shooting up to 519 over the past week.

Several weeks ago, a massive outbreak within the Silver Creek Nursing Home in Bristol attracted widespread attention. Before things stabilized, the home recorded nearly 100 cases. However, none of those cases are being counted in the rates reported above, which do not include congregate-care cases.

Schools relatively immune

Some of the hardest-hit communities in Rhode Island have seen the community spread infiltrate their public schools. In the past few days, both Cranston and East Providence school districts announced they are switching to full remote learning for the rest of 2020, meaning all students will be “going to school” from home.

Despite what’s happening in the wider community, the Bristol Warren Regional School District has been largely immune from the virus. According to data also released Wednesday, only one of this district’s public schools has seen more than a handful of cases since schools opened, and none has seen more than five cases in the past week. Mt. Hope High School has recorded between 10 and 14 cases this school year, but fewer than five in the past week. Rockwell Elementary School had no students cases in the past week, though it did see at least one staff case, as did Mt. Hope High School.

Hospitalizations soaring

Among the sobering news to break Wednesday was the number of Covid-related hospitalizations in Rhode Island, which rose to 461 people, with two field hospitals (one in Cranston and one in Providence) now in operation. Though not in the front lines of the hospitals trying to keep people alive, Bristol Fire Chief is one of the region’s first-responders seeing the surge in cases up close.

“We’re definitely doing a higher percentage of transports of patients, in our rescues, who are either suspected or confirmed cases of the virus,” Chief DeMello said Tuesday. “We’re also testing a lot more … and we’re definitely seeing lot more cases out there.”

To those who either aren’t following Covid protocols or don’t believe the data, the chief urged that people take the situation seriously. “The frustrating part, particularly for the medical community, is that it affects everyone so differently,” he said. “You or I might get it, have a mild cough and be fine, but one of our relatives can get it, and they pass away.

“It’s definitely out there. You need to take precautions. You don’t want to put other people at risk.”