State well being officers reported a weekly bounce of greater than 7,000 confirmed COVID circumstances on Thursday, a 48% spike following a latest surge within the Boston-area virus wastewater knowledge.
In the meantime, COVID hospitalizations and the state’s constructive check common are on the rise, but once more. Flu circumstances are additionally climbing.
The Bay State’s each day common of 1,071 COVID circumstances from the final week is up from the each day fee of 724 virus infections through the earlier week.
The virus wastewater knowledge is the earliest indicator of COVID circumstances on the neighborhood stage, and the sewage knowledge has helped predict waves all through the pandemic.
The south-of-Boston area has seen a major spike in COVID wastewater ranges prior to now few weeks, particularly after Thanksgiving. The seven-day common within the southern area is now 1,021 viral copies per milliliter, which is up 105% since mid-November.
The north-of-Boston area’s seven-day common is now 920 viral copies per milliliter, which is a 135% bounce over the previous couple of weeks.
The state’s constructive check common is climbing once more. The seven-day constructive check fee is now 7.85%, up from 7.14% final week.
The state additionally reported that 766 complete sufferers are hospitalized with COVID, which is a rise of 116 sufferers from this time final week.
The state reported 76 new COVID deaths over the previous week, bringing the state’s complete to 22,574 recorded deaths because the begin of the pandemic. The each day common of deaths is now 9, which is decrease than the each day demise fee through the preliminary omicron surge.
Nearly 5.6 million individuals within the state have been totally vaccinated, and greater than 3.4 million individuals have acquired at the least one booster dose. Additionally, the state reported that greater than 1.4 million extra booster doses have been administered.
“Make this vacation season a wholesome one — get your up to date COVID booster earlier than you collect with family members,” the state Division of Public Well being tweeted on Thursday. “It’s free and extensively accessible throughout Massachusetts. Discover a location close to you: vaxfinder.mass.gov.”
The Boston Public Well being Fee can be warning residents of an early and fast rise in flu circumstances, with greater than 700 circumstances of influenza reported prior to now week. Final yr, the best variety of influenza circumstances reported in a given week was 250 on the peak of flu season in mid-December.
BPHC has additionally noticed a fast enhance in influenza-related pediatric hospitalizations prior to now week.
Bisola Ojikutu, BPHC’s government director, mentioned, “With flu spreading all through Boston at such a excessive fee, there’s an pressing want for extra residents to get vaccinated to guard themselves and assist keep away from an excellent better inflow of circumstances and hospitalizations throughout and after the vacations.”
