NORTHAMPTON — On a day when the United States surpassed 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, Massachusetts released municipal-level data, including for the first time details about deaths at nursing homes.
The data show that some 62% of all 6,547 deaths in the state have occurred at long-term-care facilities. The information was reported by the facility operators, and it doesn’t include deaths at assisted living facilities, publicly financed senior residences or the 76 deaths that took place at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home — the largest such outbreak in the state.
Gov. Charlie Baker had previously resisted calls from news outlets and others to release the nursing home and rest home numbers. A statement released with the numbers did not address why the nursing home data were only released now.
“Massachusetts produces one of the most comprehensive public data reports in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said in the statement. “Today we continue our commitment to improved data and transparency by releasing new information that will add to the public’s understanding of this public health crisis.”
Some of the largest outbreaks at long-term care facilities in the area are at: CareOne in Holyoke and Northampton, where 18 and 21 residents have died, respectively; the Center for Extended Care in Amherst, where 18 have died; Day Brook Village Senior Living in Holyoke, where 19 have died; Elaine Center at Hadley, where six have died; Highview of Northampton, where 11 have died; Mount St. Vincent Nursing Home in Holyoke, where 12 have died; and Vero Health & Rehab of South Hadley, where eight have died.
In total, nursing homes account for 64 out of the 83 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Hampshire County.
The data also include the state’s weekly release of numbers by municipality, showing that most of western Massachusetts has lower rates of infection than the counties in the eastern part of the state. The infection rate is higher in Hampden County, however, which also has the highest death rate in the entire state at 117 deaths per 100,000 residents.
The municipalities in Hampshire County with the highest rate of infection per 100,000 residents are Northampton, with 269 cases, at 920.24; South Hadley, with 134 cases, at 740.37; Hadley, with 42 cases, at 730.39; and Belchertown, with 92 cases, at 577.79.
On the lower end of the scale were Amherst, with 89 cases and a rate of at 219.76 infections per 100,000 people, Ware, with 26 cases, Williamsburg with 10 cases and Westhampton with five.
Two towns have no reported cases: Worthington after testing a total of 40 people and Middlefield, which has tested eight people.
Holyoke, with 804 cases, has a rate of 1,951.25 per 100,000 people, with 25.6% of the 3,139 people who have been tested receiving positive results.
Health agents in Holyoke, Worthington and Amherst did not respond to interview requests for this article.
Northampton’s public health nurse, Jenny Meyer, said the story the new figures tell is more complicated than it first appears. As it stands, nonessential businesses have been closed and the state only just entered “phase one” of Gov. Charlie Baker’s phased reopening plan.
“The numbers show that we got really good … at phase zero,” Meyer said. “We’re not going to know how good we are at phase one until we have data that captures that.”
Meyer cautioned against trying to use the data to make predictions about the future, advocating a wait-and-see approach instead. There are just too many variables, she said — how well people follow guidelines on face masks, social distancing and isolation, for example.
As for the nursing home statistics, Meyer said those with outbreaks in Northampton have been in daily contact with city health officials. And she said long-term care facilities have improved their practices, such as cohorting and isolation, over time.
Meyer said it is possible communities will continue to see increasing cases at nursing homes. That could be because they’re doing the right thing, she said, accepting coronavirus-positive patients from busy hospitals and isolating them appropriately.
As the Baker administration begins to reopen the economy, Meyer said she hopes the state will continue to take an approach that analyzes the data before rushing ahead.
“Balancing economy and health is difficult,” she said. “Just because things are opening and you can go to them doesn’t mean you should.”
Meyer said that when venturing out, people should consider three factors to reduce their risk: distance, duration and air circulation. Staying farther away from somebody and for a shorter period of time will lower the risk of infection. So, too, does being outside and wearing a mask.
“If you can do all of those things, your risk isn’t zero,” Meyer said. “But it could get to the point where your risk is manageable.”
Meyer noted that a major reason for taking those precautions is to keep others safe, in addition to yourself.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.