What's Up in Newport County today: Tuesday, March 16

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Good Morning,

>> 1,890 COVID-19 vaccine appointments at state-wide sites will be available this morning at 9 am on vaccinateRI.org for those currently eligible for the vaccine.

Joseph Wendelken, Public Information Officer for the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), said in an email to the press on Monday night that there is a limited number of first doses available this week “because most of our vaccine this week is being used for second doses. However, there will be more availability next week”.

Wendelken says people can expect a few changes today and over the next few days on vaccinateRI.org:

There will be language on the page clarifying that some slots are not accessible because people are in the process of booking them.
RIDOH has made adjustments that will allow the site to manage more traffic without causing people to experience error messages. (It got more than 2.5 million visits after 5 p.m. on Friday.)
RIDOH is in the process of developing a “waiting room” for vaccinateRI.org. This would address the issue of appointments appearing to be available, even though other people are in the process of booking them. This won’t be operational tomorrow, but we are working to get it in place.

Finally, Wendelken confirms that RIDOH will have more availability next week, when they have to do fewer second doses. (Roughly 10,000 first dose slots are opening up this week at the pharmacies and through vaccinateRI.org. Next week, the number of first dose slots opening up for those same sites will be closer to 23,000.) Additionally, RIDOH expects their vaccine supply to increase.

>> RIDOH provided their weekly update on Monday and 20 states now have travel restrictions upon entry to Rhode Island.

>> In honor of Women’s History Month, the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce recently announced that it will recognize four honorees with a 2021 Women of Distinction award. Read about the honorees here.

>> The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Division of Agriculture and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) on Monday sent out a press release notifying the public about a New England cottontail rabbit from Patience Island in Portsmouth that tested positive for tularemia (Franisella tularensis) recently. Full Story

What’s Up in Newport County Today

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

~ Happy Birthday today to Brigid Rafferty and Jason Stanko! I missed a few folks yesterday, Happy belated to Dennis Martin, Sani Warner, Lauren Difede, Lorena McCabe, and Sherry Brice!

~ Today is National Artichoke Day and National Panda Day!

Weather Forecast

Today – Increasing clouds, with a high near 34. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight – Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph.

Marine Forecast

Today – Variable winds less than 5 kt becoming SSW 5 to 8 kt in the afternoon. Increasing clouds. Seas 1 ft or less.
Tonight – SW wind around 6 kt becoming variable and less than 5 kt after midnight. Mostly cloudy. Seas 1 ft or less.
The current water temperature in Newport is 37°F.

Sun, Moon, & Tide