All Bostonians should get regular coronavirus tests, Walsh says amid rising cases
Mayor Martin Walsh is calling on all Bostonians to get regularly checked for coronavirus tests as the city’s positive test rate continues to shoot upward, now at 7.8%.
“We know that the virus is spreading among people who don’t have symptoms, and among people who don’t know they’ve been exposed.” Walsh told reporters on Thursday. “So we want to be proactive. If you’re leaving a house with any reason, you could be exposed. So I’m encouraging you have to get tested and make it a regular part of your routine.”
Walsh said the city is making this push for more testing as cases rise — but people seeking tests aren’t following.
“As of right now and we’re investing more in testing resources more in contract tracing capacity and more for people who need to quarantine — but we have to make sure that people are using these resources,” Walsh said. “And despite increased access, we have seen the daily testing numbers fall off in recent weeks. as we head into a critical time, we need to turn that around.”
Walsh said he’s starting the “Get The Test Boston” pledge, a pact he’s encouraging employers to sign onto to indicate they’ll encourage workers to get tested. He said the city will give all employees a paid hour off every two weeks to get tested.
“It’s an opportunity to arm yourself with knowledge and be part of the community defense against the virus,” Walsh said, saying people who get tested will get a sticker.
The 7.8% positive test rate mark was for last week, the most recent data available after 6.2% positive the previous week. Each week for the past month and a half has seen the rate increase, creeping up from below 3% past the benchmark of 4% to halt city schools’ reopening — and now closing in on double that just a few weeks later.
Neighborhood-level data paints a troubling picture, too, as East Boston, Roslindale, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Roxbury and all of Dorchester are all up above 10%. That’s a big spike for many of these parts of Boston, as just two weeks ago only Hyde Park was above 10%.
“We’re seeing these numbers go up, and we’re not seeing as of right now any reason for them not to go up, which is concerning to us,” Walsh said.
Boston now has logged 20,170 confirmed coronavirus cases, from which 17,398 are considered recovered. The Boston Public Health Commission says 782 city residents have died. According to state data, Boston is averaging 15.8 cases a day per 100,000 people, moving Massachusetts’ largest city deeper into the state’s high-risk “red zone.” Earlier this week, the city moved away from in-person learning in schools as cases continued to increase.
Cases statewide were over 1,000 yet again on Thursday, as they have been since Saturday — numbers not seen since the back end of the initial spring surge.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3ebfHQt
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