Top Boston doctors debate whether students should mask up after a study found that mandates cut COVID cases in Boston-Area schools, plus talk about flu and RSV during NBC10 Boston’s weekly “COVID Q&A” series.
Massachusetts health officials reported 5,068 new COVID-19 cases and 63 new deaths in the last week, with the new data released Thursday.
In total, there have been 1,934,804 cases and 20,896 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Massachusetts' COVID data, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, did reflect an increase in cases and hospitalizations from the previous week. It's reported that as of Nov. 29 there were 215 people primarily hospitalized for COVID-19 and a total of 650 hospitalized patients who have the virus. Of the total hospitalizations, 72 were in intensive care and 28 were intubated.
Massachusetts COVID-19 wastewater data from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is also showing some increases, with the levels the highest they've been since late October.
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Hospitals have also been warning about a surge in pediatric RSV patients, raising concerns about any additional strain on the system.
The state's seven-day average positivity was listed at 7.14% Thursday, compared to 5.59% last week.
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Despite increases, we remain well below the types of case counts and hospitalizations seen at height of the omicron surge at the beginning of 2022, when average daily case counts reached over 28,000 and hospitalizations peaked at around 3,300.
Experts have said that case count reporting became a less accurate indicator during the omicron surge, given the difficulties in getting tested. Now, widespread use of rapid tests means that some results go unreported.
More than 15 million vaccine doses have now been administered in Massachusetts.
