Massachusetts coronavirus cases spike 2,054 over the weekend, Boston-area COVID wastewater tracker shows surge
Massachusetts health officials reported a spike of 2,054 new coronavirus cases over the weekend, as the Boston-area COVID wastewater tracker shows a virus surge amid the more highly contagious delta variant.
The more than 2,000 new COVID infections continues the trend of rising cases in the Bay State. The daily average of cases in the state is now 572, which is nearly nine times the 64 daily cases in late June.
Meanwhile, the Boston-area virus wastewater tracker continues to reveal a rise in COVID sewage samples.
The daily average for south of Boston samples is now 225 copies of viral RNA per milliliter, which is 25 times the amount of samples from late June. The 225 copies is around the level from late April.
In the north of Boston region, the daily average for samples is now 219 copies of viral RNA per milliliter, which is about 17 times the amount of samples from mid June. The 219 copies is comparable to the level from mid April.
Sewage samples are taken multiple times a week for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s pilot study to track wastewater for indicators of COVID. The study is being conducted by Biobot Analytics, a spinoff from an MIT research project.
State health officials on Monday also reported two COVID deaths over the weekend, bringing the state’s total recorded death toll to 18,084.
The daily average of COVID deaths is now 3.3, which is up from the record low of 1.3 in mid July.
There are now 215 COVID patients in hospitals across the Bay State, an increase of 18 patients from the total of 197 patients on Friday. There are now 50 patients in intensive care units, and 19 patients who are intubated.
The 215 total patients is a jump from the record low of 80 patients on July 4. The daily average of patients is now 184, which is more than double the average of 85 patients in mid July.
The Provincetown coronavirus cluster — with around 900 virus cases and a majority of breakthrough infections — appears to be trending toward containment. The test positivity rate has gone from a peak of 15% on July 15 to a new low of 3.3% over the weekend.
“We are well on our way to containment,” Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse wrote on Facebook, later adding, “The number of people recovering each day far exceeds the number of new cases being added. We are optimistic this will continue.”
Seven hospitalizations have been tied to the cluster, and no deaths have been reported.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3C8yO9r
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