Local COVID-19 updates

[edschweppe]

As of 4PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 12 newly reported confirmed deaths (15 less than yesterday - down 55.6%) for a total of 8,729 deaths, 349 newly reported confirmed cases (222 less than yesterday - down 38.9%) for a total of 116,770 cases, and 22,774 new patients tested by molecular tests (15,041 less than yesterday - down 39.8%) for a total of 1,604,752 individuals tested, with a total of 2,157,864 molecular tests administered to date. The ratio of newly confirmed cases to individuals tested by molecular test is 1.5%, compared to 1.5% yesterday. The state also reported 397 patients tested by antibody tests (398 less than yesterday - down 50.1%) for a total of 109,535 and 2,231 patients tested by antigen tests (911 less than yesterday - down 29.0%) for a total of 79,979.

The seven day average number of newly confirmed cases per day is 330.7 compared to 259.6 last week (up 27.4%) and 276.6 two weeks ago (up 19.6%). The seven day average number of newly confirmed deaths per day is 18.7 compared to 12.6 last week (up 48.5%) and 13.3 two weeks ago (up 40.5%). The seven day average number of molecular tests per day is 22,831.2 compared to 18,594.1 last week (up 22.8%) and 14,785.7 two weeks ago (up 54.4%). The seven day average percentage of tests coming back positive per day is 1.4% compared to 1.4% last week and 1.9% two weeks ago. (The above averages are calculated from today's raw data download.)

Unsurprisingly, the day-to-day numbers are much lower in all cases, due no doubt to yesterday's report effectively covering the entire weekend; the percent-positive rate was unchanged, which is decent news. The seven-day average counts of tests, cases and deaths are all up compared to both last week and the week before; that's good news as far as tests go, but very bad news regarding new cases and deaths.

Only about half as many students as normal are expected to physically return to Massachusetts colleges and universities for the fall semester, but the risk of those students partying their way into COVID-19 superspreader events has Governor Baker concerned:

Governor Charlie Baker said Tuesday that state officials are talking regularly with local colleges as students return for the fall semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baker, speaking during his regular press briefing, also noted that so-called super-spreader events like the now-infamous February Biogen conference in Boston illustrate how the disease can move from one person to another in a short period of time.

"Our biggest concern at this point is unmasked, undistanced, unmanaged events, and the reason we said that is our own contact tracing activity has shown that big elements of the rise in cases that we've seen in some of the communities that we would call high-risk has not been the result of people coming to a place like this," Baker said during his regular briefing following a tour of WheelWorks bike shop in Belmont.

"Because generally speaking, the people who work here are wearing masks and distancing, the customers aren't allowed in the stores if they don't wear a mask and distance," Baker said.
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He said Massachusetts officials expect about the half the number of college students who normally come to the state for the fall semester to return this autumn.

"Our primary focus right at this point is the colleges reopening, whether it's remote or kids coming back to school, and with K-12 school reopening," Baker said. "Those are big deals here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

He said the reduced number of college students returning to the state will "have certainly a significant impact on what the task at hand would actually look like compared to a traditional year, and I fully expect that sometimes daily conversations going on between us and those local communities around enforcement and around messaging and around rules of the road, guidance and advisories, and everything else, are going to continue to be pretty regular practice for all of us as we head into the month of September."

The town of Acton has yet to post an update today. As of the most recent report at 3:30PM on August 24, the town of Acton reported 195 cumulative cases of COVID-19 in town with 6 individuals in isolation, 168 recovered and 21 fatalities.