Worcester County COVID-19 cases fall 18.9%; state cases plummet 25%

Mike Stucka, USA TODAY NETWORK

The state reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 109,703 new cases. That's down 25% from the previous week's tally of 146,355 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Massachusetts ranked 20th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

In the latest week coronavirus cases in the U.S. decreased 14.9% from the week before, with 4,770,122 cases reported. With 2.07% of the country's population, Massachusetts had 2.3% of the country's cases in the last week.

A woman waits in line to be tested for COVID-19 at the UMass Memorial Health testing center inside Mercantile Center in Worcester earlier this month.
A woman waits in line to be tested for COVID-19 at the UMass Memorial Health testing center inside Mercantile Center in Worcester earlier this month.

Across the country, 27 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Many counties did not report data during the Martin Luther King Jr. long holiday weekend, disrupting the current and previous weeks' statistics. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Worcester County cases, deaths down

Worcester County reported 13,229 cases and 46 deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 16,319 cases and 47 deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 172,785 cases and 2,714 deaths.

Across the state, cases fell in 11 counties, with the best declines in Middlesex County, with 21,177 cases from 29,423 a week earlier; in Suffolk County, with 12,474 cases from 18,970; and in Essex County, with 10,077 cases from 14,576.

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

Massachusetts ranked second among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 94% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 75.5%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the U.S., require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Sunday, the state reported administering another 205,711 vaccine doses including 75,666 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 217,027 vaccine doses including 65,414 first doses.

In all, the state reported it has administered 13,735,763 total doses.

Hampden, Bristol counties report highest outbreaks

Within the state, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Hampden County with 2,133 cases per 100,000 per week; Bristol County with 1,604; and Worcester County with 1,593. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Middlesex County, with 21,177 cases; Worcester County, with 13,229 cases; and Suffolk County, with 12,474.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

In Massachusetts, 463 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 371 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,535,986 people in Massachusetts have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 21,402 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 70,700,678 people have tested positive and 866,540 people have died.

Note: For Massachusetts, Johns Hopkins University reports data in a combined health department for Dukes and Nantucket counties. Those two counties may appear without any cases, and this will skew rankings of counties.

Massachusetts's COVID-19 hospital admissions falling

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Jan. 23.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 3,301

  • The week before that: 3,729

  • Four weeks ago: 1,750

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 188,864

  • The week before that: 197,883

  • Four weeks ago: 99,261

Hospitals in 25 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 22 states had more COVID-19 patients in ICU beds.

Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Worcester County COVID-19 cases increased by 13,229 this week