Local COVID-19 updates
Jun. 15th, 2021 05:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edschweppeAs of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 2 newly reported confirmed deaths (6 less than yesterday - down 75.0%) for a total of 17,586 deaths, 55 newly reported confirmed cases (11 more than yesterday - up 25.0%) for a total of 662,910 cases, and 19,531 newly reported molecular tests (6,418 more than yesterday - up 48.9%). The seven day average positivity rate is 0.42%, compared to 0.42% yesterday. Excluding higher education, the seven day average positivity rate is 0.56%, compared to 0.57% yesterday. The number of estimated active cases was 2,429 (207 less than yesterday - down 7.9%). The state also reported zero newly reported probable deaths (same as yesterday) for a total of 363 and 24 newly reported probable cases (10 more than yesterday - up 71.4%) for a total of 46,102. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 2 new deaths for a total of 17,949 and 79 new cases for a total of 709,012. There were 124 COVID-19 patients in hospital (14 less than yesterday - down 10.1%), 43 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (same as yesterday) and 26 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (intubated) (3 more than yesterday - up 13.0%).
Of the four overview trends (formerly the Page 2 "key metrics"), the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 74.0 (11 less than yesterday - down 12.9%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 74.0 on 6/14/2021 and 99.0% below the highest observed value of 6,237.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 0.42% (0 more than yesterday - up 0.7%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 0.4% on 6/14/2021 and 98% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 150.0 (7 less than yesterday - down 4.5%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 150.0 on 6/14/2021 and 97% below the highest observed value of 3,874.0 on 4/27/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 3.0 (1 less than yesterday - down 25.0%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 3.0 on 6/13/2021 and 99% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,042 non-ICU beds, of which 7,611 (84.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 81 (0.9%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,350 (14.9%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,350 ICU beds, of which 922 (68.3%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 43 (3.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 385 (28.5%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,051 non-ICU beds, of which 7,436 (82.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 95 (1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,520 (16.8%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,346 ICU beds, of which 914 (67.9%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 43 (3.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 389 (28.9%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 138.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 5.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 242.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 0.68% (or 1.00% excluding higher education).
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
A mixed bag of day-to-day changes; newly reported confirmed cases are up (again), but newly reported confirmed deaths are down, as are estimated active cases and hospitalizations. Perhaps more importantly, all four seven-day averages are at their Lowest Observed Values for the first time ever.
The Commonwealth has officially ended the state of emergency first declared back on March 10, 2020. I guess those vaccinations are working pretty well.
How to get more people vaccinated? The latest gimmick from the state is to get the Lottery Commission into the act, giving away five prizes of one million dollars each to fully vaccinated residents:
One does need to be fully vaccinated (both shots of Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna, or one shot of Johnson &Johnson) before entering. (Hint, hint.) More details are on the VaxMillions FAQ page of the mass.gov website.
In other local COVID news, there's at least some evidence that the coronavirus was present in the state as early as December 2019:
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing zero active and 981 cumulative cases as of June 14. There have been no new cases shown on this dashboard since June 2. The most recent "newsflash style update" at 11:45AM on May 28, 2021 reported 978 cumulative cases with 3 individuals in isolation, 943 persons recovered and 32 fatalities.
Of the four overview trends (formerly the Page 2 "key metrics"), the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 74.0 (11 less than yesterday - down 12.9%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 74.0 on 6/14/2021 and 99.0% below the highest observed value of 6,237.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 0.42% (0 more than yesterday - up 0.7%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 0.4% on 6/14/2021 and 98% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 150.0 (7 less than yesterday - down 4.5%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 150.0 on 6/14/2021 and 97% below the highest observed value of 3,874.0 on 4/27/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 3.0 (1 less than yesterday - down 25.0%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 3.0 on 6/13/2021 and 99% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,042 non-ICU beds, of which 7,611 (84.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 81 (0.9%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,350 (14.9%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,350 ICU beds, of which 922 (68.3%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 43 (3.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 385 (28.5%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,051 non-ICU beds, of which 7,436 (82.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 95 (1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,520 (16.8%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,346 ICU beds, of which 914 (67.9%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 43 (3.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 389 (28.9%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 138.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 5.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 242.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 0.68% (or 1.00% excluding higher education).
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
A mixed bag of day-to-day changes; newly reported confirmed cases are up (again), but newly reported confirmed deaths are down, as are estimated active cases and hospitalizations. Perhaps more importantly, all four seven-day averages are at their Lowest Observed Values for the first time ever.
The Commonwealth has officially ended the state of emergency first declared back on March 10, 2020. I guess those vaccinations are working pretty well.
How to get more people vaccinated? The latest gimmick from the state is to get the Lottery Commission into the act, giving away five prizes of one million dollars each to fully vaccinated residents:
State officials on Tuesday said residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will have the chance to win $1 million in a special Lottery sweepstakes that all Massachusetts residents aged 18 and up can enter, provided they’re fully inoculated with either two Pfizer or Modern shots or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab.
In a statement, Governor Charlie Baker’s office unveiled the Massachusetts VaxMillions Giveaway program aimed at convincing as many people as possible to get the shots. Details on signing up for the Lottery initiative are available online on the state’s official mass.gov website.
Under terms of the program, the statement said, fully vaccinated residents 18 and older will have the opportunity to enter to win one of five $1 million cash prizes. Fully vaccinated residents between ages 12 and 17 can enter for the chance to win one of five $300,000 scholarship grants.
One does need to be fully vaccinated (both shots of Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna, or one shot of Johnson &Johnson) before entering. (Hint, hint.) More details are on the VaxMillions FAQ page of the mass.gov website.
In other local COVID news, there's at least some evidence that the coronavirus was present in the state as early as December 2019:
A new study says COVID-19 may have been present in Massachusetts as early as December 2019, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In a statement Tuesday, the NIH said its All of Us research program found evidence of COVID-19 infections in Massachusetts and four other states that occurred before the presence of the virus was confirmed in those jurisdictions.
Massachusetts officials publicly confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in a statement issued Feb. 1, 2020.
But according to the Tuesday statement from NIH, the disease had likely penetrated Massachusetts far sooner.
The NIH said researchers analyzed over 24,000 blood samples from study participants across the US between Jan. 2 and March 18, 2020. Researchers detected antibodies against the virus in nine participants’ samples, according to the statement.
[ ... ]
In the study, the statement said, the first positive samples came from participants in Illinois and Massachusetts on Jan. 7 and 8, 2020, respectively, suggesting the virus was present in both states in late December of 2019.
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing zero active and 981 cumulative cases as of June 14. There have been no new cases shown on this dashboard since June 2. The most recent "newsflash style update" at 11:45AM on May 28, 2021 reported 978 cumulative cases with 3 individuals in isolation, 943 persons recovered and 32 fatalities.