State health officials reported a weekly jump of more than 7,000 confirmed COVID cases on Thursday, a 48% spike following a recent surge in the Boston-area virus wastewater data.
Meanwhile, COVID hospitalizations and the state’s positive test average are on the rise, yet again. Flu cases are also climbing.
The Bay State’s daily average of 1,071 COVID cases from the last week is up from the daily rate of 724 virus infections during the previous week.
The virus wastewater data is the earliest indicator of COVID cases at the community level, and the sewage data has helped predict waves throughout the pandemic.
The south-of-Boston region has seen a significant spike in COVID wastewater levels in the past few weeks, especially after Thanksgiving. The seven-day average in the southern region is now 1,021 viral copies per milliliter, which is up 105% since mid-November.
The north-of-Boston region’s seven-day average is now 920 viral copies per milliliter, which is a 135% jump over the last few weeks.
The state’s positive test average is climbing again. The seven-day positive test rate is now 7.85%, up from 7.14% last week.
The state also reported that 766 total patients are hospitalized with COVID, which is an increase of 116 patients from this time last week.
The state reported 76 new COVID deaths over the past week, bringing the state’s total to 22,574 recorded deaths since the start of the pandemic. The daily average of deaths is now nine, which is lower than the daily death rate during the initial omicron surge.
Almost 5.6 million people in the state have been fully vaccinated, and more than 3.4 million people have received at least one booster dose. Also, the state reported that more than 1.4 million additional booster doses have been administered.
“Make this holiday season a healthy one — get your updated COVID booster before you gather with loved ones,” the state Department of Public Health tweeted on Thursday. “It’s free and widely available across Massachusetts. Find a location near you: vaxfinder.mass.gov.”
The Boston Public Health Commission is also warning residents of an early and rapid rise in flu cases, with more than 700 cases of influenza reported in the past week. Last year, the highest number of influenza cases reported in a given week was 250 at the peak of flu season in mid-December.
BPHC has also observed a rapid increase in influenza-related pediatric hospitalizations in the past week.
Bisola Ojikutu, BPHC’s executive director, said, “With flu spreading throughout Boston at such a high rate, there’s an urgent need for more residents to get vaccinated to protect themselves and help avoid an even greater influx of cases and hospitalizations during and after the holidays.”
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