At 158, Worcester County has largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in one day

Photo | Grant Welker The DCU Center in Worcester is being set up to host a 250-bed field hospital for less-severe coronavirus patients.

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By Grant Welker

Another 158 coronavirus cases were reported in Worcester County on Friday, along with the county's 13th death.

The latest death was a man in his 80s with pre-existing conditions, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which has reported statewide cases and deaths daily. Statewide cases continued rising, hitting 10,402 after a one-day spike of 1,436, or 16%. Worcester County's one-day case number rose 24% to 825.

Statewide deaths rose by 38, the highest single-day gain, to 192.

The latest numbers come a day after the state Department of Public Health reported four new Worcester County deaths. The city also announced three residents of the Jewish Healthcare Center in Worcester died, along with 16 positive patient cases and six staff members. When and how local cases are confirmed through the state isn't known.

The state has reported rising rates of testing conducted for coronavirus. Nearly 63,000 tests have been conducted, including more than 10,000 new tests reported Friday.

Cases were approaching 267,000 across the United States mid-afternoon Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, with more than 6,900 deaths. Cases worldwide were approaching 1.1 million, with more than 58,000 deaths.

The City of Worcester had 267 cases as of Friday afternoon. UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester has had 46 caregivers test positive as of Friday. Eric Dickson, the hospital's president and CEO, said in a public online forum UMass Memorial expects 400 more patients in the next few weeks as cases are expected to peak.

Reported deaths now are likely from patients who caught the virus weeks ago, he said, making actions now critical to keeping future death rates low. Those actions have included a UMass Memorial-led process of turning Worcester's DCU Center into a 250-bed field hospital for less-severe coronavirus patients. At the UMass hospital campuses, surgeons who've done elective procedures have been redeployed to work on coronavirus patients and roughly 160 rooms have been converted to negative pressure, which keeps potentially contaminated room air from circulating more broadly.

"What we have to do in Massachusetts is prevent what's happening in New York," Dickson said, alluding to that state's far higher case and death count.

Dickson praised local help while criticizing the federal government for not doing more to help with supplies.

"I've been at some points amazed at the lack of action by the federal government in giving us supplies," he said.

Dickson said in an earlier web forum with UMass Memorial staff the hospital had ordered 200 ventilators. The hospital doesn't think it'll have the severe ventilator shortage seen in New York, Dickson said, but he also didn't express confidence more such equipment will come.

"You can order all the ventilators you want right now, but you're not going to get any," he said.