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Worcester County again
sets new record for weekly
coronavirus cases
Originally published on Nov. 30. Read
the full version on WBJournal.com.
For the second straight week, Worces-
ter County has set a new mark for the
highest number of new coronavirus
cases in a week, this time beating the
record by 10%.
Worcester County recorded 2,365
new weekly cases, the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health reported
Friday, a slightly less steep week-to-week
increase than earlier in November but
nonetheless the highest seven-day num-
ber of cases yet recorded.
Massachusetts also set the same high
mark, with 17,766 new weekly cases. e
state's total now stands at 207,284, the
state reported Friday. Worcester County
has had 23,611 cases since the pandemic
began.
Worcester County's COVID death toll
now stands at 1,261, with 33 newly re-
ported deaths in the past week. Deaths,
typically a lagging indicator a few weeks
behind a spike in cases, has not risen
to nearly the same levels as during the
spring peak, with health officials credit-
ing a better knowledge of how the virus
works as well as a generally younger
demographic getting the virus that's less
likely to have pre-existing conditions.
Statewide, deaths rose in the latest
seven-day stretch by 200 to hit 10,635.
Across Central Massachusetts, 19
cities and towns had two-week rates of
new cases exceeding the state average of
34.9 per 100,000. at includes a rate of
153.3, one of the state's highest, in Shir-
ley, which includes the town's houses of
correction.
Patients waited outside the Mercantile Center
in Worcester for coronavirus tests. Through
mid-December, more than 9.6 million such
tests were conducted across the state.
PHOTO/GRANT
WELKER
W
