Worcester County's COVID-19 cases fall 18.9%; Massachusetts cases dip 25%
Worcester County reported 13,229 new cases of COVID-19 last week, an 18.9% decline from the 16,319 reported the week before, according to a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
Forty-six coronavirus-related deaths were reported in Worcester County last week, down from 47 the week before.
Throughout the pandemic, Worcester County has reported 172,785 COVID-19 cases and 2,714 related deaths.
Massachusetts also reported 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 now ranks 20th in the nation in terms of where COVID-19 is spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, the Johns Hopkins data shows.
Last week, coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 14.9% from the week before, with 4,770,122 cases reported. With 2.1% of the country's population, Massachusetts had 2.3% of the country's cases last week. Throughout the country, 27 states had more cases last week than they did the week before.
Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. 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.
Throughout Massachusetts, cases fell in 11 counties, with the sharpest declines occurring in Middlesex County (21,177 cases, down from 29,423 a week earlier); Suffolk County (12,474 cases, down from 18,970); and Essex County (10,077 cases, down from 14,576).
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Massachusetts is second in the nation in its 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 United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.
In the week ending Sunday, Massachusetts 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, Massachusetts reported it has administered more than 13.7 million total doses.
Within Massachusetts, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis occurred in Hampden County, with 2,133 cases per 100,000 per week; Bristol County (1,604); and Worcester County (1,593). The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases were Middlesex County, with 21,177; Worcester County, with 13,229; and Suffolk County, with 12,474.
In Massachusetts, 463 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday, up from 371 deaths the week before.
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.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
Massachusetts' COVID-19 hospital admissions falling
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday.
Likely COVID-19 patients admitted in the state:
Last week: 3,301
The week before that: 3,729
Four weeks ago: 1,750
Likely COVID-19 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 intensive-care 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.
This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: New COVID-19 cases drop nearly 19 percent in Worcester County
