Local COVID-19 updates
Jun. 24th, 2021 05:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edschweppeAs of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 4 newly reported confirmed deaths (1 less than yesterday - down 20.0%) for a total of 17,622 deaths, 78 newly reported confirmed cases (10 more than yesterday - up 14.7%) for a total of 663,478 cases, and 32,769 newly reported molecular tests (4,944 less than yesterday - down 13.1%). The seven day average positivity rate is 0.32%, compared to 0.32% yesterday. Excluding higher education, the seven day average positivity rate is 0.42%, compared to 0.42% yesterday. The number of estimated active cases was 1,636 (85 less than yesterday - down 4.9%). The state also reported zero newly reported probable deaths (same as yesterday) for a total of 364 and zero newly reported probable cases (same as yesterday) for a total of 46,144. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 4 new deaths for a total of 17,986 and 78 new cases for a total of 709,622. There were 96 COVID-19 patients in hospital (2 more than yesterday - up 2.1%), 29 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (1 less than yesterday - down 3.3%) and 15 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (intubated) (same as yesterday).
Of the four overview trends (formerly the Page 2 "key metrics"), the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 52.0 (same as yesterday), 0% above the lowest observed value of 52.0 on 6/23/2021 and 100.0% below the highest observed value of 6,236.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 0.32% (0 less than yesterday - down 1.3%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 0.3% on 6/22/2021 and 99% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 104.0 (2 less than yesterday - down 1.9%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 104.0 on 6/23/2021 and 98% 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 (same as yesterday), 0% above the lowest observed value of 3.0 on 6/22/2021 and 99% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,171 non-ICU beds, of which 8,089 (88.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 67 (0.7%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,015 (11.1%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,362 ICU beds, of which 982 (72.1%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 29 (2.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 351 (25.8%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,121 non-ICU beds, of which 7,979 (87.5%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 64 (1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,078 (11.8%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,364 ICU beds, of which 955 (70.0%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 30 (2.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 379 (27.8%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 97.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 4.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 182.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 0.51% (or 0.71% excluding higher education).
Today being Thursday, the state also included city/town specific information in the daily download. My town of Acton is listed as having 952 total cases, with a two-week case count of no cases, a daily incidence rate of 0.0 which is lower than last week, and a risk color code of gray. Acton is also listed as having 49,856 total tests, with a two-week total test count of 1,145 and a two-week positive test count of 0, for a percent-positive rate of 0.00 which is lower than last week. The corresponding statewide figures are 663,400 total cases, with a two-week case count of 1,179 cases, a daily incidence rate of 1.2 which is lower than last week, and a risk color code of gray. Massachusetts is also listed as having 23,643,625 total tests, with a two-week total test count of 397,901 and a two-week positive test count of 1,564, for a percent-positive rate of 0.39 which is lower than last week.
Of the 351 cites and towns in the Commonwealth, 332 are coded gray (compared to 328 last week), 19 are coded green (compared to 23 last week), and zero are coded yellow (compared to zero last week). There were no cities or towns coded red this week.
Of the 10 towns near my church, 10 are coded gray (Acton, Berlin, Bolton, Boxborough, Harvard, Hudson, Marlborough, Maynard, Stow, and Sudbury), none are coded green, none are coded yellow, and none are coded red.
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
The day-to-day changes are mixed, with confirmed deaths down but confirmed cases up. The estimated active case count is once again down, while the various hospitalization counts are mixed (total up, ICU down, intubations constant). The seven-day averages are either holding constant (deaths and cases) or dropping (percent-positive and hospitalizations), and in all cases are at the Lowest Observed Values.
For the third week running, the city/town data showed no communities in either the yellow (moderate-risk) or red (high-risk) categories. Four more towns shifted from green to grey, meaning the total number of cases over the previous two weeks dropped below ten (or fifteen, for larger cities). My own town of Acton has had no new cases in the last two weeks, per today's state data - and none in the last three, based on the town's dashboard below.
Overall, great news, right? It's all over bar the shouting? Not really; even in Massachusetts, there are still folks dying of COVID every day:
The vaccines are clearly working wonders. But folks who aren't vaccinated - which, don't forget, includes kids under 12, for whom there isn't yet an approved vaccine - are still terribly vulnerable.
If you can, get your shots. Right now, it's as simple as that.
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing zero active and 981 cumulative cases as of June 23. 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 52.0 (same as yesterday), 0% above the lowest observed value of 52.0 on 6/23/2021 and 100.0% below the highest observed value of 6,236.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 0.32% (0 less than yesterday - down 1.3%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 0.3% on 6/22/2021 and 99% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 104.0 (2 less than yesterday - down 1.9%), 0% above the lowest observed value of 104.0 on 6/23/2021 and 98% 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 (same as yesterday), 0% above the lowest observed value of 3.0 on 6/22/2021 and 99% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,171 non-ICU beds, of which 8,089 (88.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 67 (0.7%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,015 (11.1%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,362 ICU beds, of which 982 (72.1%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 29 (2.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 351 (25.8%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,121 non-ICU beds, of which 7,979 (87.5%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 64 (1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,078 (11.8%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,364 ICU beds, of which 955 (70.0%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 30 (2.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 379 (27.8%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 97.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 4.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 182.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 0.51% (or 0.71% excluding higher education).
Today being Thursday, the state also included city/town specific information in the daily download. My town of Acton is listed as having 952 total cases, with a two-week case count of no cases, a daily incidence rate of 0.0 which is lower than last week, and a risk color code of gray. Acton is also listed as having 49,856 total tests, with a two-week total test count of 1,145 and a two-week positive test count of 0, for a percent-positive rate of 0.00 which is lower than last week. The corresponding statewide figures are 663,400 total cases, with a two-week case count of 1,179 cases, a daily incidence rate of 1.2 which is lower than last week, and a risk color code of gray. Massachusetts is also listed as having 23,643,625 total tests, with a two-week total test count of 397,901 and a two-week positive test count of 1,564, for a percent-positive rate of 0.39 which is lower than last week.
Of the 351 cites and towns in the Commonwealth, 332 are coded gray (compared to 328 last week), 19 are coded green (compared to 23 last week), and zero are coded yellow (compared to zero last week). There were no cities or towns coded red this week.
Of the 10 towns near my church, 10 are coded gray (Acton, Berlin, Bolton, Boxborough, Harvard, Hudson, Marlborough, Maynard, Stow, and Sudbury), none are coded green, none are coded yellow, and none are coded red.
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
The day-to-day changes are mixed, with confirmed deaths down but confirmed cases up. The estimated active case count is once again down, while the various hospitalization counts are mixed (total up, ICU down, intubations constant). The seven-day averages are either holding constant (deaths and cases) or dropping (percent-positive and hospitalizations), and in all cases are at the Lowest Observed Values.
For the third week running, the city/town data showed no communities in either the yellow (moderate-risk) or red (high-risk) categories. Four more towns shifted from green to grey, meaning the total number of cases over the previous two weeks dropped below ten (or fifteen, for larger cities). My own town of Acton has had no new cases in the last two weeks, per today's state data - and none in the last three, based on the town's dashboard below.
Overall, great news, right? It's all over bar the shouting? Not really; even in Massachusetts, there are still folks dying of COVID every day:
More than a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have returned to full capacity. People are shedding their masks, planning summer vacations, and reuniting with family members in person after months of conversations confined to computer screens.
But for Sherri Pedraza, who lives in Palmer, it's been painful to watch as Massachusetts has reopened. Her husband of nearly 20 years, Reynaldo, a Marine Corps veteran and avid golfer, died of the virus in mid-May after contracting it while gathering with his cousins for a game of dominoes in early April. He was 49.
"I see people out and I think 'You guys think we're all free and clear now,'" Pedraza, 50, said. "But it's not gone. It's still there. And it scares me to death."
More than 80 percent of Massachusetts adults have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infections and deaths from COVID-19 are plummeting. And with the rollback of most precautions, stores, restaurants, and even the roads are crowded again. Still, the number of deaths in Massachusetts inches closer to 18,000, and the United States surpassed 600,000 deaths last Tuesday.
[ ... ]
Reynaldo wasn't eligible for the vaccine when he got sick in early April, said Pedraza, who also contracted the virus but experienced milder symptoms.
"We were just waiting for it to be our time," to get the vaccine, she said.
Experts say those dying of the virus now are mostly unvaccinated, and the ages of those infected are skewing slightly younger, partly because of lower vaccination rates among people aged 20 to 40 years old. Deaths remain concentrated in older people, with the average age dropping from 86 last August to 74 now, according to state data. While there have been "breakthrough" cases, in which people who are vaccinated are exposed to the virus and become infected, those are typically very mild, said Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
But the widespread availability of vaccinations is relatively new, and some of those who died recently may have been sick for much longer and hospitalized with COVID-19 for several months, experts said.
"Some of these people never got the opportunity to be vaccinated," said Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center. "Some are people who didn't qualify for vaccination, and they're still in the hospital."
The vaccines are clearly working wonders. But folks who aren't vaccinated - which, don't forget, includes kids under 12, for whom there isn't yet an approved vaccine - are still terribly vulnerable.
If you can, get your shots. Right now, it's as simple as that.
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing zero active and 981 cumulative cases as of June 23. 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.