November 12, 2020
Coronavirus cases double in Worcester County, set record for second-highest week
Photo | Grant Welker
CVS on West Boylston Street in Worcester
By Grant Welker
New coronavirus cases have nearly doubled in the past week in Worcester County, according to new state data on Thursday, mirroring a dramatic rise in cases bringing numbers close to their spring peak.
Worcester County had 1,816 new cases in the past week, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the second-highest weekly number recorded during the pandemic so far. It nearly doubles the number from the prior week. Worcester County coronavirus cases now total 19,468 since the pandemic began, the fourth highest in the state.
In the city of Worcester, 518 new cases in the past were reported on Thursday, the city's fifth highest week during the pandemic, not counting a week with a backlog of cases was retroactively added. That brings the city's total to 7,898, and likewise represents roughly a doubling of cases in just one week.
Across Massachusetts, cases are also now suddenly nearing their peak from April, when cases topped out a few times at nearly 3,000 a day.
The state has 174,953 total cases through Thursday, including 14,255 in the past week — the third highest of any Thursday-to-Thursday period so far. The only higher periods were in mid- to late-April when cases averaged about 15,000 in consecutive weeks.
The average number of new cases per 100,000 in the past two weeks — a prominent standard for state officials to measure the spread in each community — has reached a statewide average of 20.7. A month ago, that average was 8.7.
A number of Central Massachusetts cities and towns are far above the state average in the past two weeks, including Ashland (25.4), Boylston (22.3), Clinton (29.4), Fitchburg (48.5), Framingham (23.1), Gardner (22.6), Leominster (45.1), Milford (30.7), Paxton (27.4), Petersham (33.8), Shirley (36.0), Uxbridge (36.1) and Worcester (22.3).
If there is a bright spot, it is that hospitalizations and deaths — both lagging indicators — have not risen at nearly the same pace as cases in Worcester County and statewide.
Deaths across the county increased in the past week by 23, bringing the total so far to 1,208 since the pandemic began. At the worst of the pandemic, Worcester County once had 136 deaths in a one-week stretch in April. Statewide, confirmed deaths hit 10,015, bringing that number past the milestone of 10,000. The number of confirmed and suspected cases is higher, at 10,242.
Hospitalizations, while a fraction of their levels in the spring, are on the rise.
UMass Memorial Health Care and Saint Vincent Hospital have a total of 88 inpatient coronavirus cases, including 22 who are in intensive care. That's up from 34 total cases and eight in the ICU a week prior. Statewide, hospitalizations total 661, up from 498 a week ago.
UMass Memorial Health Care President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson said in a staff memo Thursday that the Worcester-based system has 65 inpatient cases in total: 42 at the Medical Center, four at Marlborough Hospital and 19 at HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital. UMass Memorial Medical Center put new visitor restrictions in place twice this month as cases have risen. Dickson has also been in touch with state officials to help plan a potential field hospital at the DCU Center in Worcester, as was done during the spring surge.
"I know this increased response activity also increases our personal levels of stress and anxiety. I’m stressed and worried too," Dickson said in the memo. "I hope that this second surge will not be as severe as what we experienced back in the spring. It may feel chaotic right now because we are all sorting out what needs to be done, but I do believe we are so much more knowledgeable because of our previous experience that we will settle into an operational rhythm much quicker than we did in the spring."
The City of Worcester is hosting free coronavirus testing drives, including at the following times and locations:
- Monday, Nov. 16, 12-2 p.m., at Worcester State University, 486 Chandler St.
- Tuesday, Nov. 17, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., at Mercantile Center, 201 Commercial St.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., at Mercantile Center, 201 Commercial St.
No appointments are necessary, and a free mask is provided with each test. Flu shots are also available with insurance. All attendees are reminded to wear a mask or face covering and to maintain social distancing.
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