Official statewide COVID-19 case counts in Massachusetts have dipped in the past three weeks from the peak of the post-holiday omicron surge, but not every community is finding relief, and public health experts are still urging caution and taking steps to boost vaccination efforts.
The Department of Public Health reported 7,918 new cases of COVID-19 across the state on Wednesday alone — down from the record-setting 27,612 cases on Jan. 5 — a test positivity rate of 10.37%, more than 2,600 hospitalizations with 405 in intensive care, and 80 new deaths. Case counts do not include the results of at-home antigen tests.
Even though state reports show a mostly downward trend, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified 2,901 cases in Hampshire County from Jan. 18-24, more than double the previous week, but a 37% drop in hospital admissions and fewer than 10 deaths. About 62% of residents over 18 are fully vaccinated with a booster shot.
Franklin County saw 1,380 cases from Jan. 18-24 — a 148% jump from the prior week — with a 35% increase in hospitalizations and fewer than 10 deaths, while 56.7% of residents over 18 are fully vaccinated with a booster shot, according to the CDC.
Amherst reported 302 active cases on Wednesday, while Greenfield identified 345 cases in the last seven days and 1,204 for the month of January to date.
During Wednesday’s debate in the state Senate over a new COVID-19 response bill, Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, said that 51,000 Massachusetts children have tested positive in the past two weeks and 95 people on average have died of COVID-19 every day for the past seven days.
The Senate passed the bill, boosting the $55 million bill passed by the House to $75 million.
Mass. DPH reports that 89% of medical/surgical hospital beds in western Massachusetts are occupied, and so are about 68% of ICU beds.
The Baystate Health hospital system reported 237 inpatients with COVID-19 on Wednesday, including 10 at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, and 23 in critical care. Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton reported 26 inpatients with positive tests, five of them in the ICU.
Last week, Northampton Public Health Director Merridith O’Leary told the City Council that the city’s case counts “might be hitting a little plateau, which would be amazing. If we’re following national and state trends, then hopefully that is the case, and we’ll have a couple weeks of a plateau and then we might see a decline.”
Neighboring Easthampton “appears to be headed in the right direction,” Megan Harvey, an epidemiologist with the Easthampton Health Department, wrote in a public statement this week. “There is no reason to panic, or lose hope … but please don’t lose sight of the fact that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is circulating widely in our community and many remain at significant risk.”
Harvey wrote that the city’s latest case counts have improved by several metrics, including drops in the seven-day test positivity rate, average case rate per 100,000 population and new cases in the previous week.
“However, the fact remains that our health care system is overwhelmed and overburdened. Do what you can to stay out of the hospital,” she wrote.
In South Hadley, Board of Health members looked at local transmission numbers on Tuesday evening and decided to delay any conversations about ending the town’s mask mandate until next month’s meeting. The health board implemented a mask mandate on Dec. 23 amid spiking cases that now appear to be peaking.
“We’re seeing some encouraging trends, however, we’re waiting for the trends to continue in the same direction,” board chair Johanna Ravenhurst said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Public Health Director Sharon Hart said that the town had 193 active COVID-19 cases for the week, which included 152 cases that had been confirmed during that week. The rest of the cases were still active cases carried over from the previous week, when she said there were 224 active cases.
Tony Judge, a board member, said at Tuesday’s meeting that, although it’s only anecdotal, he has seen a significant increase in mask wearing at a local grocery store after the mask mandate went into effect.
“I think we made a very good decision,” he said.
The Franklin County Mobile Vaccination Clinics administered their first shots of the winter this week at schools in Turners Falls and Orange. The clinics are a partnership among DPH, Behavioral Health Network, local school districts and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments.
Anyone 5 and older is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine and anyone 18 and older is eligible for a booster shot.
The clinic schedule is as follows: Feb. 3, 1-6 p.m., Mohawk Trail Regional School in Buckland; Feb. 8, 2-6 p.m., Franklin County Technical School in Turners Falls; Feb. 11, 2-6 p.m., Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield; Feb. 16, 2-6 p.m., Jon Zon Community Center in Greenfield.
Adults without children are welcome at the school-based clinics, but organizers ask that they make appointments for later in the day.
Links to register are available on the city of Greenfield’s website. Flu shots are also offered at each clinic.
Staff writer Dusty Christensen contributed to this report.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.