Local (and not-so-local) COVID-19 updates
Jul. 22nd, 2021 05:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edschweppeAs of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 6 newly reported confirmed deaths (4 more than yesterday - up 200.0%) for a total of 17,673 deaths, 477 newly reported confirmed cases (20 more than yesterday - up 4.4%) for a total of 667,818 cases, and 34,750 newly reported molecular tests (1,360 less than yesterday - down 3.8%). The seven day average positivity rate is 1.39%, compared to 1.30% yesterday. Excluding higher education, the seven day average positivity rate is 1.80%; that rate was not reported yesterday. The state also reported zero newly reported probable deaths (same as yesterday) for a total of 368 and 65 newly reported probable cases (3 less than yesterday - down 4.4%) for a total of 46,738. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 6 new deaths for a total of 18,041 and 542 new cases for a total of 714,556. There were 118 COVID-19 patients in hospital (11 more than yesterday - up 10.3%), 36 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (2 more than yesterday - up 5.9%) and 12 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (intubated) (2 less than yesterday - down 14.3%).
Of the four overview trends (formerly the Page 2 "key metrics"), the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 271.0 (26 more than yesterday - up 10.6%), 323% above the lowest observed value of 64.0 on 6/23/2021 and 96.0% below the highest observed value of 6,235.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 1.39% (0 more than yesterday - up 7.2%), 348% above the lowest observed value of 0.3% on 6/25/2021 and 95% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 109.0 (2 more than yesterday - up 1.9%), 28% above the lowest observed value of 85.0 on 7/9/2021 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 2.0 (same as yesterday), 100% above the lowest observed value of 1.0 on 7/12/2021 and 99% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,141 non-ICU beds, of which 8,191 (89.6%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 82 (0.9%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 868 (9.5%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,361 ICU beds, of which 986 (72.4%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 36 (2.6%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 339 (24.9%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,109 non-ICU beds, of which 8,109 (89.0%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 73 (1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 927 (10.2%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,354 ICU beds, of which 944 (69.7%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 34 (2.5%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 376 (27.8%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 61.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 2.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 88.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 0.47% (or 0.61% 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 958 total cases, with a two-week case count of 6 cases, a daily incidence rate of 1.8 which is higher than last week, with a corresponding risk color code of gray (if the state was still reporting color codes). Acton is also listed as having 51,837 total tests, with a two-week total test count of 932 and a two-week positive test count of 6, for a percent-positive rate of 0.64 which is higher than last week. The corresponding statewide figures are 667,341 total cases, with a two-week case count of 2,581 cases, a daily incidence rate of 2.6 which is higher than last week. Massachusetts is also listed as having 24,329,365 total tests, with a two-week total test count of 332,798 and a two-week positive test count of 2,925, for a percent-positive rate of 0.88 which is higher than last week.
As of July 1, 2021, the state is no longer reporting risk color codes. However, if it was, of the 351 cites and towns in the Commonwealth, 297 would be coded gray (compared to 325 last week), 53 would be coded green (compared to 26 last week), and zero would be coded yellow (compared to zero last week).The remaining 1 towns would be coded red (compared to 0 last week): Provincetown.
1 cities/towns would be newly coded red this week (Provincetown) and 0 cities/towns would no longer be 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.
Day-to-day changes continue to be bad. Deaths, cases and hospitalizations are all up from yesterday, as are all four seven-day averages. The absolute numbers are still rather low, but every single trendline I can see is going in the entirely wrong direction. Not to mention that, for the first time since May 27, the statewide city/town data would show a community in the highest-risk, red, category (Provincetown) - if the state were still making that calculation themselves, that is.
Based on the calculated infection rate, the folk at Covid Act Now have placed Massachusetts in the red, Very High Risk category. They have us at an infection rate of 1.51 (one newly infected person spreads to, on average, one and a half others), currently the highest in the nation. Only a month ago, the same folks had Massachusetts in the green, Low Risk category. This is not good.
Cambridge health officials announced yesterday that 42% of that city's 83 cases this month were "breakthrough" cases (persons who are fully vaccinated, yet caught COVID anyway):
Not that Governor Baker intends to do a damn thing about anything:
Great. The state has the opportunity to nip this latest outbreak in the bud, and the Governor doesn't give a damn.
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing 9 active and 990 cumulative cases as of July 21. 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 271.0 (26 more than yesterday - up 10.6%), 323% above the lowest observed value of 64.0 on 6/23/2021 and 96.0% below the highest observed value of 6,235.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 1.39% (0 more than yesterday - up 7.2%), 348% above the lowest observed value of 0.3% on 6/25/2021 and 95% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 109.0 (2 more than yesterday - up 1.9%), 28% above the lowest observed value of 85.0 on 7/9/2021 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 2.0 (same as yesterday), 100% above the lowest observed value of 1.0 on 7/12/2021 and 99% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,141 non-ICU beds, of which 8,191 (89.6%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 82 (0.9%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 868 (9.5%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,361 ICU beds, of which 986 (72.4%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 36 (2.6%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 339 (24.9%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,109 non-ICU beds, of which 8,109 (89.0%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 73 (1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 927 (10.2%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,354 ICU beds, of which 944 (69.7%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 34 (2.5%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 376 (27.8%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 61.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 2.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 88.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 0.47% (or 0.61% 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 958 total cases, with a two-week case count of 6 cases, a daily incidence rate of 1.8 which is higher than last week, with a corresponding risk color code of gray (if the state was still reporting color codes). Acton is also listed as having 51,837 total tests, with a two-week total test count of 932 and a two-week positive test count of 6, for a percent-positive rate of 0.64 which is higher than last week. The corresponding statewide figures are 667,341 total cases, with a two-week case count of 2,581 cases, a daily incidence rate of 2.6 which is higher than last week. Massachusetts is also listed as having 24,329,365 total tests, with a two-week total test count of 332,798 and a two-week positive test count of 2,925, for a percent-positive rate of 0.88 which is higher than last week.
As of July 1, 2021, the state is no longer reporting risk color codes. However, if it was, of the 351 cites and towns in the Commonwealth, 297 would be coded gray (compared to 325 last week), 53 would be coded green (compared to 26 last week), and zero would be coded yellow (compared to zero last week).The remaining 1 towns would be coded red (compared to 0 last week): Provincetown.
1 cities/towns would be newly coded red this week (Provincetown) and 0 cities/towns would no longer be 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.
Day-to-day changes continue to be bad. Deaths, cases and hospitalizations are all up from yesterday, as are all four seven-day averages. The absolute numbers are still rather low, but every single trendline I can see is going in the entirely wrong direction. Not to mention that, for the first time since May 27, the statewide city/town data would show a community in the highest-risk, red, category (Provincetown) - if the state were still making that calculation themselves, that is.
Based on the calculated infection rate, the folk at Covid Act Now have placed Massachusetts in the red, Very High Risk category. They have us at an infection rate of 1.51 (one newly infected person spreads to, on average, one and a half others), currently the highest in the nation. Only a month ago, the same folks had Massachusetts in the green, Low Risk category. This is not good.
Cambridge health officials announced yesterday that 42% of that city's 83 cases this month were "breakthrough" cases (persons who are fully vaccinated, yet caught COVID anyway):
New infections among Cambridge residents have increased in July, with 83 confirmed and probable cases reported so far this month (July 1-20), according to the Cambridge Public Health Department. The City and the Public Health Department are closely monitoring COVID-19 case trends in Cambridge and the Commonwealth, and will continue to issue updates and critical information to the community. To stay informed, please subscribe to the city's daily email update.
The Cambridge Public Health Department urges residents--vaccinated and not--to wear a mask and practice physical distancing in situations where transmission is likely and when around unvaccinated people, including young children.
In Cambridge, of these 83 confirmed or probable cases, 42% were vaccine "breakthrough" cases, meaning they were fully vaccinated but still got infected.
There are still many aspects of COVID-19 that are not well understood, including the long-term impacts of this disease on people. The best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 is to get vaccinated. Even among people with breakthrough infections, the vaccines have proven to be extremely effective at preventing serious illness and death. It is important to remember that no vaccine offers 100% protection against illness.
The proportion of vaccine breakthrough cases in Cambridge this month mirrors trends recently reported in Massachusetts and other states. It is unclear what's behind the uptick in infections among both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people, but it's most likely a combination of various factors, including the increasing prevalence of the highly transmissible Delta variant in the United States and the return to everyday activities.
Not that Governor Baker intends to do a damn thing about anything:
As COVID-19 cases begin to tick up again in Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker said Thursday that he has no plans to reinstate statewide restrictions. But he left the door open for local officials to set limits on their own communities should they consider it necessary.
"We're not looking at changing any of our existing rules or policies," he said. "We have a set of statewide standards and they're based on what we see on a statewide basis. And if communities believe they need to pursue strategies that are more effective and appropriate to them, then they should do so."
Speaking at an event on Cape Cod — which is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, many among people who were vaccinated — Baker said the state is in a good position relative to the rest of the country and that he remains encouraged by the thousands of vaccines being administered in Massachusetts every day.
Baker boasted that Massachusetts has one of the nation's highest vaccination rates and said an uptick in cases is not as concerning as it would have been earlier this year.
[ ... ]
Baker rescinded the vast majority of COVID-19 restrictions in May and June after millions of Mass. residents received a vaccine and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dramatically eased mask guidance for fully vaccinated people.
But since then, a worrying rise in COVID-19 cases — the vast majority of them tied to a new Delta variant of the virus — has taken place across the country, conjuring breakthrough infections in vaccinated people and proving life-threatening and deadly to the unvaccinated. The CDC said this week that 83 percent of new cases are tied to the Delta variant.
The surge has led some officials to reinstate restrictions and issue new guidance.
In Provincetown, a cluster of cases prompted town officials to issue a new mask advisory, urging even vaccinated people to wear a mask indoors when social distancing isn't possible. And Los Angeles County announced it will revive an indoor mask mandate, citing the rising case counts and hospitalizations tied to the Delta variant.
"What's got to be the rule of thumb here is that people make decisions based on the current state of play with respect to the virus in their state, and we're in a very different place than most of the country," Baker said.
Even as cases begin to rise again after a low earlier this summer, Massachusetts and its highly vaccinated population are in better shape than much of the nation.
Great. The state has the opportunity to nip this latest outbreak in the bud, and the Governor doesn't give a damn.
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing 9 active and 990 cumulative cases as of July 21. 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.