Taunton records highest new COVID case total of entire pandemic, for 2nd week in a row

Kristina Fontes, The Taunton Daily Gazette
·6 min read

TAUNTON — For the past two weeks, the city has recorded its highest totals of new COVID cases for the entire pandemic.

Last week's record-setting total was eclipsed by this week's: 1,257 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Taunton over the past week.

The latest weekly report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, released on Thursday, recorded more than 3,000 new COVID cases across the Greater Taunton area: 3,155.

This means that there have been new weekly case totals in Greater Taunton that have been higher than 1,000 per week for a solid month now.

Taunton has now surpassed more than 12,000 cases since the pandemic began, with a total of 12,557.

Hundreds of people wait in line down Mott Street in order to get tested for COVID-19 at the old Brock Avenue fire station in New Bedford.
Hundreds of people wait in line down Mott Street in order to get tested for COVID-19 at the old Brock Avenue fire station in New Bedford.

According to the DPH report, Taunton's running two-week case total is 2,226, and the city's daily incidence rate this past week was 276.2 per 100,000 in population.

Taunton's positivity rate has climbed for three weeks in a row, from 17.63% last week to 24.93% this week.

That's higher than the state's seven-day average, which is 20.34% as of Thursday.

On Thursday, state health officials also reported 18,721 new cases of COVID-19. There have been a total of 1,305,830 cases statewide since the pandemic began.

Officials also reported 36 new COVID-related deaths. The state's death toll is 20,386 people.

Mass. DPH is also reporting that 79 people in Bristol County have died over the last two weeks, and that the total confirmed and probable COVID deaths in Bristol County is now 2,144 people.

Bristol County COVID tracker: Bristol County's COVID cases up 48.6%; Mass. cases surge 63.7%

Who's been vaccinated?

Currently in Taunton, 13% of kids age 5 to 11 have been fully vaccinated.

So far, Norton has the highest percentage of fully vaccinated kids in that demographic in the Greater Taunton area, with 31%.

Countywide, Rehoboth and Fall River are tied for the lowest percentage of fully-vaccinated children ages 5 to 11, with 9%. Mansfield, at 44%, has the highest percentage so far.

Across Greater Taunton, here is how the effort is going to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11:

  • Taunton: 21% partially vaccinated; 13% fully vaccinated (580 out of 4,494 pop.)

  • Berkley: 23% partially vaccinated; 17% fully vaccinated (97 out of 584 pop.)

  • Dighton: 24% partially vaccinated; 16% fully vaccinated (111 out of 711 pop.)

  • Freetown: 28% partially vaccinated; 19% fully vaccinated (136 out of 713 pop.)

  • Lakeville: 38% partially vaccinated; 29% fully vaccinated (251 out of 854 pop.)

  • Middleboro: 19% partially vaccinated; 13% fully vaccinated (259 out of 1,991 pop.)

  • Norton: 39% partially vaccinated; 31% fully vaccinated (415 out of 1,326 pop.)

  • Raynham: 35% partially vaccinated; 26% fully vaccinated (336 out of 1,291 pop.)

  • Rehoboth: 17% partially vaccinated; 9% fully vaccinated (89 out of 988 pop.)

Overall, Taunton has reached 64% full vaccination. As of the latest report, that is 36,869 people in the city.

Seventy-one percent, or 40,952 people, has received at least one dose.

Someone is considered fully vaccinated when they are two weeks out from receiving either a one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine or the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

As of this week, the only two towns in the Greater Taunton area that have not met or exceeded 60% full vaccination are Middleboro and Rehoboth.

The latest overall vaccination figures for Greater Taunton:

  • Berkley: 69% partially vaccinated; 63% fully vaccinated

  • Dighton: 69% partially vaccinated; 63% fully vaccinated

  • Freetown: 75% partially vaccinated; 67% fully vaccinated

  • Lakeville: 75% partially vaccinated; 68% fully vaccinated

  • Middleboro: 62% partially vaccinated; 56% fully vaccinated

  • Norton: 73% partially vaccinated; 65% fully vaccinated

  • Raynham: 78% partially vaccinated; 71% fully vaccinated

  • Rehoboth: 64% partially vaccinated; 54% fully vaccinated

So far, more than 15 million (15,125,270) vaccine doses have been shipped to the state, and more than 13.1 million (13,153,045) have now been administered.

The state has also administered more than 2.4 million booster shots as of Thursday: 2,410,463, to be precise.

The COVID-19 vaccines are all free, and some locations that offer the vaccine accept walk-ins. Visit the state's Vaxfinder website to book an appointment, or call 211.

As of the latest DPH vaccine report, 5,142,999 Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated.

Hospitalizations due to COVID

According to state health officials, there are 3,180 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Massachusetts, and 484 of them are in an intensive care unit.

At Morton Hospital in Taunton, Mass. DPH reports that there are 63 people hospitalized with COVID, and 10 of them are in the ICU.

All hospitals in Massachusetts have changed how they are reporting COVID-19 cases going forward.

Hospitals will report two separate datasets: the number of patients hospitalized primarily for COVID-19, and those who are hospitalized for something else and then test positive while hospitalized.

Less than 10% of beds available: What we know about hospital capacity amid MA COVID surge

COVID in Greater Taunton

All of Taunton's surrounding towns reported increases in new COVID cases over the past week.

Middleboro once again reported the highest weekly total, other than Taunton, with 383 new cases.

Norton and Raynham also reported more than 300 new cases this past week, with 338 and 301, respectively.

Over the past week, DPH reports that there were 3,155 (including the 1,257 cases in Taunton) new cases of COVID-19 reported for Greater Taunton:

  • Berkley: 136 new cases; 1,455 total; 215 two-week running case count; 225.3 average daily incidence rate; 26.24% positivity.

  • Dighton: 144 new cases; 1,478 total; 229 two-week running case count; 206.3 average daily incidence rate; 24.26% positivity.

  • Freetown: 185 new cases; 1,951 total; 292 two-week running case count; 230.5 average daily incidence rate; 23.55% positivity.

  • Lakeville: 208 new cases; 2,192 total; 371 two-week running case count; 233.1 average daily incidence rate; 25.63% positivity.

  • Middleboro: 383 new cases; 4,536 total; 708 two-week running case count; 184.6 average daily incidence rate; 20.51% positivity.

  • Norton: 338 new cases; 3,016 total; 566 two-week running case count; 203.1 average daily incidence rate; 21.50% positivity.

  • Raynham: 301 new cases; 3,113 total; 535 two-week running case count; 252.7 average daily incidence rate; 22.88% positivity.

  • Rehoboth: 203 new cases; 2,000 total; 314 two-week running case count; 176.4 average daily incidence rate; 26.69% positivity.

Taunton Daily Gazette/Herald News copy editor and digital producer Kristina Fontes can be reached at kfontes@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton breaks weekly pandemic record crosses 12,000 total cases