Boston coronavirus positive test rate decreases

A key Boston coronavirus metric has edged back down over the past few days after weeks of climbing, causing Mayor Martin Walsh to express some very cautious optimism.

“The positive rate went down to 7.2%, which was as high as 8% the week before,” Walsh told reporters on Wednesday morning. “That’s good to see, but it’s too soon to say that we started a trend.”

The Boston Public Health Commission for the first time rolled out a deeper dive into the city’s numbers, posting graphs that show the seven-day averages of the positive coronavirus test rate, the number of new positive tests and the amount of people in the hospital. The seven-day snapshot is a rolling average.

The percent positivity rate, which officials regularly use as a key metric in charting the spread of the virus, peaked Oct. 26 and 27 at 8.2% before nudging back down to around 7.2%  in the past few days, though the most recent data is incomplete. The lowest point was around 2.3% in July, a point from which the rate had risen steadily.

“More people are getting tested, and fewer people are testing positive,” Walsh said, using that data.

But Walsh, who’s had to call off in-person learning in the schools and hold the city back from further reopening, said the stats aren’t all roses.

“Our numbers continue to be higher than what we need them to be in Boston, and hospitals have been seeing more activity,” the mayor said. “Those are the realities that we have to address. So I’m going to continue to urge everyone to please get tested … that helps you stay safe, and it strengthens our ability to contain this virus.”

Walsh has urged everyone to get tested regularly — whether they have symptoms or not. He said there are more than 30 testing sites around the city.

The hospitalization rate is still rising, per BPHC data. The seven-day average rose to 190 Bostonians in hospitals’ emergency departments as of Monday, the highest since the spring and up from a low of 112 over the summer.

Boston now has logged 21,275 confirmed coronavirus cases, from which 18,004 are considered recovered. The Boston Public Health Commission says 871 city residents have died.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3mQpkaw