MA Town-By-Town COVID-19: Hospitalizations Up More Than 33%

MASSACHUSETTS — The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Massachusetts is up more than 33 percent, according to the latest state Department of Public Health data released Thursday.

The seven-day average number of hospitalized patients was 348.6, up from 261 the week before, according to the Department of Public Health. As of Wednesday, 384 Massachusetts residents were hospitalized with COVID-19.

The rise in hospitalizations came as COVID-19 cases increased in more than four out of every five cities and towns across the state.

Case counts rose in 270 Massachusetts communities, stayed the same in 26 and decreased in 40, state data showed.

There were also 4.7 deaths per day over the last week, up from 3.9 a week ago.

According to state COVID-19 data, the seven-day positive test rate also increased, from 3.66 percent last week to 4.32 percent this week. But positivity rates are still much lower than they were at the peak of the omicron wave in January.

Still, cases have been on the rise since the third week of March because of the omicron subvariant BA.2. Over the last two weeks, deaths and hospitalizations also started heading in the wrong direction.

Positivity test rates also rose in more than 250 Massachusetts cities and towns. In Massachusetts, 254 communities saw the rate increase, 27 had no change, and 53 saw it drop, the public health department said.

The Department of Public Health on Thursday also reported 2,528 new coronavirus cases, 13 deaths and 14,996 vaccine doses administered.

The weekly average case count was 1,440.4daily cases, up from 1,393.7 a week before. At the early January peak of the omicron surge, the state reported more than 23,000 average daily cases.

The latest state vaccine report showed the number of fully vaccinated residents rose to about 5.35 million. Booster doses were given to about 2.98 million residents.

Community-Level Data

To use this map, zoom in and click on a pin to see that community's coronavirus vaccination rate or case numbers. You can also view the town-by-town coronavirus data here

Colors on the map represented if a community's case counts were decreasing, staying the same, or increasing. Blue dots meant a community had a lower case count from the previous week. Yellow meant they stayed the same, and red meant higher.

For dozens of communities, up to 30 vaccinations may be missing from the data, as the state did not report totals for demographic subgroups with fewer than 30 vaccinated.

The data also did not include 1,701 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in. Vaccination rates in some communities, such as Brookline, Buckland and Lincoln, may be skewed by reporting issues, such as federal facilities or misalignment between ZIP code and municipal boundaries.

Other Key Coronavirus Metrics

Of the 384 hospitalized patients, 27 were in intensive care Wednesday, down three from a week before, state health officials said.

According to the Department of Public Health, 29 percent of the state's coronavirus hospitalizations over the last week were "primarily" hospitalized for the virus, versus "incidental" cases who tested positive while hospitalized for another reason. Sixty-two percent of the state's hospitalized patients on Wednesday were vaccinated.

To date, there have been 1,598,541 confirmed cases and 19,098 deaths statewide since the pandemic began.

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The state reported 67,095 new tests Thursday, bringing the total administered to about 43.4 million.

The data included coronavirus cases for all Massachusetts communities, except for those with populations under 50,000 and those with fewer than five cases. The department said the stipulation was designed to protect the privacy of patients in those towns and cities.

The state releases town-by-town testing data every Thursday, including the number of people tested, the testing rate, the positive test rate, cases and infection rates.

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This article originally appeared on the Across Massachusetts Patch