New cases of COVID-19 rise less sharply statewide; Worcester County shows decline

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read

The number of new coronavirus cases moderated last week in Massachusetts, with Middlesex County being the only one in the region to experience an increase of greater than 10%.

Statewide, there were 30,983 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday, up 5.1% from the previous week, according to a  USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.

Eighty-five Massachusetts residents died last week of causes related to COVID-19, up from 59 deaths the week before.

In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,002,173 people have died as of May 22.
In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,002,173 people have died as of May 22.

Massachusetts is still fifth nationally in terms of where the coronavirus is spreading fastest on a per-person basis, the Johns Hopkins data show. With 2.1% of the country's population, Massachusetts had 3.9% of the country's cases in the last week.

Throughout the country, 42 states had more cases last week than they did the week before.

But new case counts actually declined, week over week, in Worcester County. The county had 2,747 new cases last week, down 3.7% from the 2,853 new cases reported the previous week. There were 12 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the county last week, up from seven the week before.

Middlesex County reported a 12.6% increase in new cases last week, from 6,646 two weeks ago to 7,486 last week. There were 17 coronavirus-related deaths in the county last week, up from 10 the week before.

Norfolk County reported 2,635 new cases last week, up 3.7% from the 2,540 reported the week before. There were seven deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the county last week, up from four the week before.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Throughout Massachusetts, cases fell in six counties, with the sharpest weekly declines occurring in Hampshire County, (759 cases, down from 921); Barnstable County (679 cases, down from 803); and Worcester County.

Massachusetts is second nationally in terms of its share of people receiving at least one shot, with 98.3% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.7%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

More than 1.8 million Massachusetts residents have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, with 20,478 dying of the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Massachusetts' COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday.

Likely COVID-19 patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 1,622

  • The week before that: 1,509

  • Four weeks ago: 1,011

Likely COVID-19 patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 53,333

  • The week before that: 49,215

  • Four weeks ago: 39,443

Hospitals in 31 states reported having more COVID-19 patients last week than they did a week earlier, while hospitals in 29 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds.

Hospitals in 37 states admitted more COVID-19 patients last week than they did a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: New coronavirus cases in Massachusetts rose 5 percent last week