Local COVID-19 updates

[edschweppe]

As of 4PM this afternoon, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 122 more deaths from COVID-19 (for a total of 4,212 to date), 1,184 new cases (for a total of 70,271) and 9,081 more tests performed (for a total of 333,349).

Those raw numbers aren't showing much (if any) sustained declines, which one might reasonably expect to be a precondition for reopening the local economy. However, some other statistics (percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, hospitalization rates and utilization, etc.) are starting to trend in the desired directions, as Governor Baker noted in his press conference today.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker struck a cautiously optimistic tone Tuesday about the state’s progress in battling the coronavirus pandemic, saying that the trends in data were hopeful but "we’re still very much in the fight."

[ ... ]

Baker pointed to a continuing decline in the rate of positive coronavirus test results as a "good sign," especially considering the rate has been declining as more tests have been processed. The seven-day moving average of the percentage of positive tests edged downward to 15 percent Tuesday.

Baker said officials have also seen "a pretty steady downward trend" in hospitalizations for the virus, which he called "a really encouraging sign."

"We’re still very much in the fight against the virus, but it’s encouraging, I think, for everybody to see progress, given how much hard work and how much sacrifice has been invested in this," he said.

Baker said the state has seen "for the first time, a few days in a row of the right kinds of trends."

He cautioned, however, that "no one thinks you need less than 14 days” of positive data before the state can move in the direction of reopening.

"We are starting to see the positive downward trends in a number of those key indices that are so critical to our ability to actually pursue a phased reopening strategy here in Massachusetts," Baker said. "Now, they need to continue to go in that direction for a while to live up to the guidance the federal government and many other countries have given to folks like us for how to think about this."

As of 5PM today, the town of Acton is reporting 100 confirmed cases in town; 53 of those being "cases in isolation that are actively being monitored". I must confess to seeing neither rhyme nor reason to the pattern of when during the day or night the town posts its updates.