Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Worcester are decreasing, but city officials and health leaders said the area's hospitals remain full of patients sickened by the omicron variant.
Nearly 4,000 new cases were reported in Worcester this week. The city’s seven-day average for new cases is 567 and the positivity rate is 17%. That's down from the city's seven-day average of 684 new cases last week.
Total case counts are likely higher than the reported figure, because more people are using at-home COVID-19 tests. Still, city officials said recent levels of the virus appear to be dropping in wastewater samples, and the decline in cases mirror statewide trends.
“It’s too early to tell yet, but the signs are hopeful, optimistically cautious that we’re moving out of the surge,” Mayor Joseph Petty said during a weekly news briefing Friday.
Although cases are decreasing, officials said hospitalizations in Worcester due to COVID-19 remain high.
St. Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Healthcare, Worcester’s two main hospitals, have a combined 328 people hospitalized, and 73 are being treated in intensive care units. One week ago, the hospitals had 349 COVID-19 patients and 60 in ICUs.
Worcester Medical Director Michael Hirsch said the surge is stressing hospital resources and affecting staff morale.
“There’s very little flexibility because everybody’s kind of at maximum capacity,” Hirsch said, noting he hopes hospitals will start seeing fewer COVID-19 cases in February.
Petty and City Manager Edward Augustus said demand for COVID-19 tests is softening and people can continue to receive PCR tests at UMass Memorial Mercantile Center Clinic and local pharmacies. They also urge Worcesterites to sign up to receive rapid at-home tests through the mail.
Augustus added that free N95 masks will likely be available at pharmacies and health centers as the federal government distributes them nationwide. Federal officials have said the new mask program will start running by early February.
Worcester officials said authorities have issued 135 fines to businesses and organizations since the beginning of a citywide indoor mask mandate in September.
According to state data, about 60% of Worcester residents are fully vaccinated with two shots and 39% have received the booster. Statewide, about 76% of residents are fully vaccinated.
Petty and Hirsch warned residents that COVID-19 will continue to be a dangerous threat as long as they remain unvaccinated.
“It’s been a long two years,” Petty said. “But we do know what works: being vaccinated, getting your booster and masking up.”
