This is How Many People Have Died From COVID-19 in Rhode Island

Since the first death attributable to COVID-19 was reported in the United States on Feb. 29, 2020, an estimated 584,153 Americans have died — and that number continues to grow every day. Over the past seven-day period, an average of 573 Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 have died each day.

Adjusting for population, there have been a total of 179 COVID-19-related deaths for every 100,000 Americans nationwide. In Rhode Island, deaths attributable to the coronavirus per capita are even more common than they are nationwide. Across the state, 2,704 people have died from the coronavirus, equal to about 256 deaths for every 100,000 people. Of all states — and Washington D.C. — Rhode Island has the fourth highest death rate per capita.

Any number of factors contribute to variations in COVID-19 fatalities per capita across the United States. One of them is the per capita infection rate. Just as the number of deaths attributable to the virus per capita is higher in Rhode Island than it is nationwide, COVID-19 infections per capita are too.

To date, there have been 151,258 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Rhode Island, equal to 14,306 infections per 100,000 people — compared to 10,021 infections per 100,000 people nationwide.

Though it is not always the case, states with higher than average COVID-19 deaths per capita are often also home to larger high-risk populations. One such group is retirement-age Americans, who are at least 90 times more likely to die from the virus if infected than those in the 18 to 29 age group. In Rhode Island, 17.7% of the population are 65 and older. Nationwide, 16.5% of the population fall into that age group.

All COVID-19 data used in the story is current as of May 24, 2021.

These are all the counties in Rhode Island where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).