Coronavirus cases in Worcester County reached a more than five-month high in the week ending Thursday, with nearly 900 new cases.
The latest data, released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Thursday, continues a sharp rise in the past few weeks both locally and nationwide more than eight months since the pandemic began.
Worcester County has had 17,368 total cases through Thursday, with 896 in the past week alone. Statewide, cases in the past week have risen by 8,439 to 158,937. In both cases, those weekly counts are the highest since the week ending May 20.
The City of Worcester reported 266 new cases in the past week through Thursday, also its highest since May, excluding a backlog of unreported cases that were disclosed in early June. Worcester now has 7,380 total cases since the pandemic began.
Deaths, though still far lower than in the spring, are also on the rise statewide, though less so in Worcester County. In Worcester County, 14 new deaths brings the total to 1,185. Across Massachusestts, total confirmed deaths have hit 9,859, up 132 in the past week. Combined total and confirmed deaths have surpassed 10,000 in the past week, now at 10,085.
The Department of Public Health did not release newly updated town-by-town case rates on Thursday as it had in recent weeks. Those results are scheduled to be released late Friday. Last week, 23 cities and towns in Central Massachusetts — more than one in four in the region — were in the state’s red category, the most high-risk, with eight or more positive cases per 100,000 in the most recent two weeks.
Hospitalizations remain far below spring levels, a trend coinciding with cases far more likely to include younger residents now than back in the pandemic’s initial phase. Statewide, 498 coronavirus patients are hospitalized, with 115 in intensive care. In Worcester, UMass Memorial Health Care and Saint Vincent Hospital have a combined 54 inpatient cases, up 19 from a week prior. Of those, 14 are in intensive care, up five from a week prior.
Nationwide, cases hit new records in the past week, including the first daily case totals exceeding 100,000. Cases have hit 9.6 million as of Friday morning, with 235,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Worldwide, cases are approaching 49 million with 1.2 million deaths.
