January 7, 2021
Worcester County coronavirus cases again set new weekly record
Photo | Grant Welker
The DCU Center field hospital in Worcester has more than 200 beds for coronavirus patients.
By Grant Welker
New coronavirus cases in Worcester County have again broken a record, and this time deaths are also on the rise, according to new Massachusetts Department of Public Health data.
New weekly statewide cases also hit an all-time high at nearly 34,000 in the past week, reaching a total of 393,188 since the pandemic began.
Deaths are on the rise everywhere — in the city of Worcester, Worcester County and statewide — as public officials continue to warn of a post-holidays spike in cases. Deaths typically trail cases by a few weeks, and cases in Massachusetts generally plateaued in early December and have remained at around the highest levels the state has seen since the pandemic began.
In Worcester County, 4,398 new cases were reported in the past week, beating the previous high of 4,097 just a few weeks ago, according to state data. The county also had 78 newly reported deaths, its highest since the weekly total through June 3. Worcester County now has 46,398 cases and 1,601 confirmed and probable deaths since the pandemic began. The state has had 12,634 deaths, including 71 on Thursday alone.
Worcester's case count has risen to 15,910, city officials reported Thursday. The rise of 1,376 cases is among the city's highest, but it reflects an eight-day period, a day longer than normal because officials gave weekly data a day earlier last week because of New Year's Eve.
City Manager Edward Augustus said officials expect to see higher numbers still in the few weeks ahead. The city recorded 257 new cases on Thursday alone.
The two city-based acute-care hospital systems, UMass Memorial Health Care and Saint Vincent Hospital, have seen a decrease in the number of coronavirus patients in general and intensive-care coronavirus patients, Augustus said. But that isn't good news he added — it's attributable at least in part to the 40 new deaths the two health systems have reported in the past week.
The hospitals' are close to full with patient beds and have had to turn to the state to replenish some equipment, said Dr. Michael Hirsh, the medical director of the Worcester Division of Public Health.
In the meantime, a field hospital at the DCU Center in Worcester currently has 54 patients, and has treated 294 patients since opening a second time to less-severe pandemic patients a month ago.
A previously announced vaccine drive for first responders that's being led by Worcester public health officials will start Monday. The vaccinations will be administered at the Worcester Senior Center and include police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, dispatch workers and college public safety personnel, both in Worcester and in six surrounding towns: Shrewsbury, Millbury, Leicester, Holden, Grafton and West Boylston. The city expects to vaccinate more than 2,000 people.
Tight business operating guidelines have been extended for several more weeks in an action taken by Gov. Charlie Baker Thursday. Those guidelines, which were put back in place on Dec. 26, limit restaurants to 25% capacity, among other limits. They are now in place through Jan. 24.
Nationally, case continue to hover around all-time highs. The United States has surpassed 21.5 million cases and 364,000 deaths through Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Worldwide, cases are nearing 88 million, with nearly 1.9 million deaths.
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