Middlesex County's COVID cases up 17.4%; Massachusetts cases surge 36.1%
New cases of COVID-19 rose sharply in Massachusetts last week, although less so in Middlesex County.
According to a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, there were 18,872 new cases of the coronavirus in Massachusetts during the week ending Sunday, up 36.1% from the 13,862 new cases reported the previous week.
Forty-one Massachusetts residents were reported dead of COVID-19 last week, down slightly from 46 deaths the week before.
Massachusetts is third nationally in terms of where the coronavirus is spreading fastest on a per-person basis, the Johns Hopkins data shows. Last week, coronavirus cases in the United States increased only 8.9% from the week before, with 381,004 cases reported.
With 2.07% of the country's population, Massachusetts had 4.95% of the country's cases last week. Forty-one states had more cases last week than they did the week before.
Middlesex County reported 4,443 new cases last week, up 17.4% from the 3,786 new cases reported the week before. There were six deaths linked to COVID-19 in the county last week, down from nine the week before.
Worcester County reported 1,860 new cases last week, up 67.6% from the previous week's new case total of 1,110. There six coronavirus-related deaths in the county last week, up from two the week before.
Norfolk County reported 1,728 new cases last week, up 31.7% from the previous week's new case total of 1,312. There three coronavirus-related deaths in the county last week, down from seven the week before.
Within Massachusetts, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis occurred in Berkshire County, with 429 cases per 100,000 per week; Suffolk County, with 362; and Hampshire County, with 308. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Weekly case counts rose last week in 12 counties from the previous week. The sharpest increase from the prior week's pace occurred in Worcester County.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Massachusetts is second nationally in its share of people receiving at least one shot, with 98.2% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.6%, 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.
In the week ending Sunday, Massachusetts reported administering another 90,510 vaccine doses, including 15,057 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 89,640 vaccine doses, including 14,913 first doses. In all, Massachusetts reported it has administered more than 14.8 million total doses.
A total of 1,757,103 people in Massachusetts have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 20,263 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 81,365,218 people have tested positive and 993,733 people have died.
>> 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: 1,202
The week before that: 1,011
Four weeks ago: 819
Likely COVID-19 patients admitted in the nation:
Last week: 43,243
The week before that: 39,428
Four weeks ago: 37,216
Hospitals in 34 states reported more COVID-19 patients last week than they had a week earlier, while hospitals in 34 states also had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 38 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 MetroWest Daily News: Middlesex County reported 4,443 new cases of COVID-19 last week
