Boston-area COVID wastewater rises ahead of Thanksgiving, free at-home test kits available

As the Boston-area COVID wastewater data ticks up ahead of Thanksgiving gatherings, residents can get more free at-home test kits while some local health experts are pushing for a return to masks in healthcare settings.

After a recent decline in the COVID wastewater data, the south-of-Boston and north-of-Boston virus wastewater levels have been climbing in the last week.

The south-of-Boston weekly average is now up to 596 copies per milliliter, which is a 65% jump from 360 copies a week ago. Meanwhile, the north-of-Boston weekly average is up to 433 copies, also a 65% increase from 263 copies last week.

Ahead of the holidays as virus cases are expected to rise, every U.S. household can again place an order to receive four more free COVID-19 rapid tests. If residents did not already order tests this fall, they may place two orders for a total of eight tests at www.covid.gov/tests.

Also, the Boston Public Health Commission is distributing 10,000 free rapid COVID-19 testing kits at several community centers and community health centers around the city.

“Respiratory viruses, like COVID-19, the flu and RSV, will continue to pose a challenge this holiday season,” said Bisola Ojikutu, commissioner of Public Health and executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission. “We are giving out test kits and other resources to ensure that residents have the tools they need to stay safe and healthy.”

Health officials have been urging residents to stay up-to-date on COVID, flu and RSV vaccines to reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalization — especially during the holiday season when colder temps and more time spent indoors with loved ones increases the risk of getting sick.

The CDC is anticipating another jump in infections and hospitalizations, but the Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity is sounding the alarm that masks are no longer required in healthcare settings. Major hospitals ended mask requirements and testing policies last May.

The group is calling for a return to universal mask protections in healthcare settings, and mandatory COVID testing for all incoming patients.

“Our elderly relatives, people with serious illnesses, must go to hospitals for care when they are in the worst shape of their lives,” said Theodore Pak, an infectious diseases fellow in Boston. “We may give somebody a powerful medication that takes away their entire immune system, and then they have to go to a hospital where they sit next to unmasked people who could give them a disease that could kill them.”