Department of Health

State officials in Vermont offered an early warning Tuesday that COVID-19 cases could climb high enough in the weeks ahead to force temporary school closures in some communities — there simply may not be enough staff to keep them running. “I expect we will see some intermittent school closures in the coming weeks as a result of staff availability issues,…

Rhode Island is winding down operations at its large coronavirus vaccination sites in favor of more community-based vaccination clinics, state health officials said. The state Department of Health, in response to public input, will run about 100 COVID-19 vaccination clinics at schools, churches, senior centers, and other community sites over the next month. Vaccines will continue to be available at…

A COVID-19 cluster that prompted a Rhode Island high school to move to remote classes for a week may be tied to a recent homecoming dance, health officials said. Pilgrim High School in Warwick started remote classes on Monday, about a week after the dance. “Roughly 25 cases among students and staff have been identified,” state Department of Health spokesperson…