Edmund Schweppe (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
edschweppe) wrote2021-12-03 05:36 pm
edschweppe) wrote2021-12-03 05:36 pm
Entry tags:
Local COVID-19 updates
As of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 27 newly reported confirmed deaths (4 less than yesterday - down 12.9%) for a total of 19,074 deaths, 5,179 newly reported confirmed cases (9 more than yesterday - up 0.2%) for a total of 870,629 cases, and 129,910 newly reported molecular tests (9,692 more than yesterday - up 8.1%).The seven day average positivity rate is 4.74%, compared to 4.94% yesterday. The state also reported zero newly reported probable deaths (1 less than yesterday) for a total of 415 and 586 newly reported probable cases (77 more than yesterday - up 15.1%) for a total of 65,215. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 27 new deaths for a total of 19,489 and 5,765 new cases for a total of 935,844. There were 1,003 COVID-19 patients in hospital (14 more than yesterday - up 1.4%), 191 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (15 less than yesterday - down 7.3%) and 109 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 3,053.0 (690 more than yesterday - up 29.2%), 4,670% above the lowest observed value of 64.0 on 6/25/2021 and 51.0% below the highest observed value of 6,229.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 4.74% (0 less than yesterday - down 3.9%), 1,438% above the lowest observed value of 0.3% on 6/25/2021 and 83% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 886.0 (32 more than yesterday - up 3.7%), 942% above the lowest observed value of 85.0 on 7/9/2021 and 78% below the highest observed value of 3,874.0 on 4/27/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 16.0 (3 more than yesterday - up 23.1%), 1,500% above the lowest observed value of 1.0 on 7/11/2021 and 91% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,033 non-ICU beds, of which 7,603 (84.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 812 (9.0%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 618 (6.8%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,261 ICU beds, of which 885 (70.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 191 (15.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 185 (14.7%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,037 non-ICU beds, of which 7,595 (84.0%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 783 (9%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 659 (7.3%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,278 ICU beds, of which 896 (70.1%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 206 (16.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 176 (13.8%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 1,747.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 11.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 591.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 3.09%.
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
Day-over-day deaths are down a bit, as is the seven-day percent-positive average, so yay? But cases and hospitalizations are up again; today's 1,003 patients in hospital is the first time we've been over a thousand since February 17. And the other three seven-day averages (deaths, cases, and hospitalizations) are all up again compared to yesterday. Fifteen thousand new cases in the last three days? Yuck.
The state reported 185 open ICU beds in today's report, but they're clearly not distributed equally across the Commmonwealth. The front page of today's Boston Globe told the story: UMass Memorial Worcester ran out of ICU beds yesterday:
Gee, thanks for nothing, Charlie. The CDC's mask guidelines currently say that everyone should mask up in indoor public areas if they're in an area of high or sustained community transmission - which, today, is all of Massachusetts except Nantucket. Governor Baker could easily use that as the basis for a new mask mandate, and that would take a good chunk out of the transmission rates statewide. (Then, once the transmission rates go down, the mandate goes away automatically! Win-win!) But, no, things are clearly not bad enough for our Governor to get off his butt.
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing 69 active and 1,382 cumulative cases as of December 2; the 69 active cases are the most the town has reported since it reported 70 cases on January 13. The most recent "newsflash style update" at 1PM on November 22, 2021 reported 1304 cumulative cases with 54 individuals in isolation, 1218 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 3,053.0 (690 more than yesterday - up 29.2%), 4,670% above the lowest observed value of 64.0 on 6/25/2021 and 51.0% below the highest observed value of 6,229.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 4.74% (0 less than yesterday - down 3.9%), 1,438% above the lowest observed value of 0.3% on 6/25/2021 and 83% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 886.0 (32 more than yesterday - up 3.7%), 942% above the lowest observed value of 85.0 on 7/9/2021 and 78% below the highest observed value of 3,874.0 on 4/27/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 16.0 (3 more than yesterday - up 23.1%), 1,500% above the lowest observed value of 1.0 on 7/11/2021 and 91% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,033 non-ICU beds, of which 7,603 (84.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 812 (9.0%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 618 (6.8%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,261 ICU beds, of which 885 (70.2%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 191 (15.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 185 (14.7%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,037 non-ICU beds, of which 7,595 (84.0%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 783 (9%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 659 (7.3%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,278 ICU beds, of which 896 (70.1%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 206 (16.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 176 (13.8%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 1,747.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 11.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 591.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 3.09%.
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
Day-over-day deaths are down a bit, as is the seven-day percent-positive average, so yay? But cases and hospitalizations are up again; today's 1,003 patients in hospital is the first time we've been over a thousand since February 17. And the other three seven-day averages (deaths, cases, and hospitalizations) are all up again compared to yesterday. Fifteen thousand new cases in the last three days? Yuck.
The state reported 185 open ICU beds in today's report, but they're clearly not distributed equally across the Commmonwealth. The front page of today's Boston Globe told the story: UMass Memorial Worcester ran out of ICU beds yesterday:
New COVID-19 cases continue to mount at an alarming rate, the state reported Thursday, with more patients streaming into already-strained hospitals just as the new Omicron strain of the virus appears to be taking a deeper hold in the United States.
Massachusetts reported the state had its largest single-day case count on Wednesday since last winter's surge, with 5,170 new cases and 989 patients with COVID-19 in the hospital. And with several more confirmed cases of Omicron reported in other states, President Biden on Thursday proposed a plan to head off further spread of the virus as the cold weather and holiday season drive more people to socialize in confined indoor spaces.
Also on Thursday, state education leaders reported 8,513 new cases among public school students and 1,396 among staff members for the two-week period that ended Wednesday — a troubling but expected increase as numbers have risen sharply across the state.
Hospitals were already struggling to handle an unprecedented crush of patients with other conditions, including those who delayed care after the pandemic hit. But some doctors said the new wave of COVID patients tended to have milder symptoms than in previous surges, likely because of high vaccination rates and improved treatments.
Anticipating more cases with the onset of winter, Biden proposed battling Omicron through wider availability of vaccines, particularly booster shots, but without new major restrictions on daily life. He wants to require private insurers to cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 tests, in the hope of catching more infections before further transmission. He's also tightening testing requirements for people entering the United States, regardless of their vaccination status, and extending the requirement to wear masks on airplanes and other public transit through at least the middle of March.
"Experts say the COVID-19 cases will continue to rise in the weeks ahead this winter, so we need to be ready," Biden said during a visit to the National Institutes of Health in suburban Maryland after a briefing with scientific advisers.
Hospitals in Massachusetts, packed with patients even before the latest COVID-19 surge, this week started canceling scheduled surgeries that can be delayed without serious harm.
"We ran out of ICU beds today," said Dr. Eric Dickson, chief executive of UMass Memorial Health in Worcester. "That's as bad as I've ever seen it."
Statewide, COVID-19 case totals have more than doubled and hospitalizations have increased by more than 90 percent in the past several weeks. Deaths have not risen as sharply, most likely because vaccination prevents severe illness and treatment improves.
Data from the state Department of Public Health show a rollercoaster pattern of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts this fall. After declining somewhat from a bump in September, the case numbers turned upward starting in late October, and have continued to climb ever since.
[ ... ]
Hospital leaders expect COVID hospitalizations to continue rising for at least the next month as more people gather indoors to celebrate the holidays.
"We are preparing for one of the largest, if not the largest, census we've ever had in hospitals after the new year," said Steve Walsh, chief executive of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association.
Hospitals statewide have 500 to 1,000 fewer beds than normal because there are not enough nurses and other professionals to staff them, Governor Charlie Baker said in Worcester on Thursday. That also makes it very difficult to staff a field hospital, he said, as the state did during the early days of the pandemic.
At UMass Memorial Medical Center on Thursday, 60 patients were waiting in the emergency department to be admitted, six in need of intensive care, Dickson said. To free up beds, UMass Memorial has postponed more than 100 scheduled surgeries, many of them joint replacements and other procedures that require an overnight stay.
The Mass General Brigham hospital group was treating about 150 patients with COVID-19 on Thursday, double the number three weeks ago, according to Dr. Ron Walls, chief operating officer. Among those in the ICU, 80 percent were unvaccinated, he said.
Hospitals across Mass General Brigham, the state's largest health system, started canceling a small share of operations, about 15 surgeries per day this week, Walls said.
People "got into a false sense of security that we didn't need to be so careful anymore," Walls said. "We're going to need to be vaccinated, masked, and careful for many months to come."
Dr. Doug Salvador, chief medical officer at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, said that, likely thanks to vaccines and new treatments, COVID-19 patients are not as seriously ill as in previous surges. "We have definitely seen fewer ICU and ventilated patients," Salvador said.
Meanwhile, as some countries close borders or reinstitute lockdowns, Biden said he would not at this time impose additional clampdowns beyond his recommendation that Americans wear masks indoors in public settings, the Associated Press reported.
Likewise Baker said he had no plans to "reinstate a mask mandate of any kind statewide" but added that local communities are free to do so.
Baker supported Biden's effort to make at-home tests more available. Their use in the schools has enabled students around the state to continue with in-person schooling, he said.
Gee, thanks for nothing, Charlie. The CDC's mask guidelines currently say that everyone should mask up in indoor public areas if they're in an area of high or sustained community transmission - which, today, is all of Massachusetts except Nantucket. Governor Baker could easily use that as the basis for a new mask mandate, and that would take a good chunk out of the transmission rates statewide. (Then, once the transmission rates go down, the mandate goes away automatically! Win-win!) But, no, things are clearly not bad enough for our Governor to get off his butt.
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing 69 active and 1,382 cumulative cases as of December 2; the 69 active cases are the most the town has reported since it reported 70 cases on January 13. The most recent "newsflash style update" at 1PM on November 22, 2021 reported 1304 cumulative cases with 54 individuals in isolation, 1218 persons recovered and 32 fatalities.