READ LAST WEEK’S SUMMARY BY CLICKING HERE

Every Thursday the MA Dept. of Public Health releases numbers for how COVID-19 has impacted the state, and we try to highlight some of these numbers so the community is informed about how COVID is impacting Lynn & the state. Their numbers factor in the past week as well as the week before, giving 2 weeks worth of data.

The City of Lynn officially entered the yellow COVID-19 risk category for the first time on March 12th, but returned to the red category on March 25th. Since returning to the red Lynn’s numbers have gone back up very quickly, which is bad news for Lynn as we have been hit hard throughout the pandemic. On February 8th Lynn passed 15,000 total cases and last week we passed 17,000. We currently stand at 17,249, an increase of 183 from last week.

After over a month of troubling increases, the City of Lynn is starting to see decreases in the amount of people with COVID-19. The average daily incidence rate per 100,000 for Lynn this week was 29.3 while it was at 35.1, 36.8, 34.9, & 29.5 the last 4 weeks. The positivity rate this week was 4.68% while it was 5.53%, 5.77%, 5.36%, & 4.69% the last 4 weeks. Lynn currently has 297 active cases while the last three weeks it was 405, 402, & 375. New 24-hour cases have been low with the occasional spike for months now, the largest single-day increase since the start of March was 75 on April 6th. Deaths have slowed in Lynn, with only 17 people that have died due to COVID-19 since March 1st. You can view these trends for Lynn yourself on the City of Lynn’s COVID-19 dashboard by clicking here. You can click the icon in the top-right corner of each section to see it enlarged.

There has been concern a hesitancy towards the vaccine (due in part to the J&J vaccine recall), the return of youth sports, re-opening schools to more in-person learning, & loosening restrictions could cause a spike in cases. With those factors in mind, and the continuing high numbers this spring, it is still recommended to take COVID-19 precautions seriously until you’ve been fully vaccinated. Because the vaccines only help to fight the virus and do not entirely prevent the spread it is advised to mask up and distance, even after the 2 week window for second doses to be at maximum effectiveness, to continue to mitigate the spread of the virus to those that haven’t or can’t get the vaccine yet. Please read about the Lynn Tech vaccination site by clicking here.

The state of Massachusetts as a whole has seen some negative trends finally stop, marking two weeks of positive trends in a row. The average daily incidence rate per 100,000 for MA this week was 24.7 while for the past 4 weeks it was 27.4, 28.1, 25.6, & 21.5. The positivity rate this week was 2.30% but the 4 weeks prior it had been 2.48%, 2.54%, 2.36%, & 2.01%. Back in early February the number of communities in the red category had rapidly declined, reaching a low of 14, but quickly rose closer to 100. There has been a slow decline over the past several weeks, and currently MA has 48 communities in the red. The number of communities in the yellow has fluctuated due to communities changing categories from red to yellow and yellow to green, but has remained below 200 for months.

The United States currently has 32million cases, & has consistently only been adding about 400K per week the last couple of months. There are currently 145million cases reported worldwide, up from 139million last week. Internationally cases have remained fairly constant, with at least 3million a week for months. However, there is concern as cases in India have surged in a dangerous second COVID-19 wave. India has seen record-breaking increases in cases after reopening and loosening restrictions multiple days in a row, with332,730 new cases reported. The medical infrastructure in that country has been devastated, with hospitals in short supply of everything from beds to oxygen.

Increases in new cases in the U.S. have dropped significantly, but are still fluctuating. At it’s height back in early January 300K+ new cases were reported with a 7-day average of 259,616. Yesterday 66,362 new cases were reported, with a 7-day average of 61,901. The death toll in the US now sits at approx. 570K, while it was at 565K, 560K, 533K, & 546K the previous 4 weeks. This week the world passed 3million dead because of COVID-19. The good news in the U.S. is that deaths have been trending downwards fast since early February. Yesterday only 911 were declared dead due to COVID-19, & the 7-day average for deaths sits at 719. Caution is still being urged by Dr. Fauci & the CDC as the United States passes 200 million doses of vaccinations administered, well past initial projections.

In Massachusetts there are currently 48 communities in the red category & 167 in the yellow category. The last 4 weeks there were 59, 77, 55, & 32 communities in the red. The last 4 weeks there were 170, 154, 172, & 179 communities in the yellow.

The MA Department of Public Health continues to conduct surveillance for COVID-19 variants of concern including B.1.1.7 (first identified in the UK), B.1.351 (first identified in South Africa) and P.1 (first identified in Brazil).

Surveillance, consisting of genetic sequencing on portions of COVID-19 positive specimens, has been ongoing in a collaboration between the Massachusetts State Public health Laboratory with clinical diagnostic laboratories and academic partners, including the CDC. Surveillance data so far has identified B.1.1.7 and the B.1.351 cases without any recent travel; it is critical to do everything possible to keep variants of concern from becoming widespread.

The public health risk reduction measures remain the same. Individuals must continue to wear masks or face coverings while out in public, maintain 6-foot social distancing, stay home when you are sick, and get tested if you have symptoms or are identified as a close contact

Below are the statistics for Lynn & the state.

From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 297 with 23 new cases today. 16,740 Lynn residents have recovered and 212 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 17,249. Please visit the City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.

Vaccine Appointments NOW Available for All Individuals Age 16+ at Lynn Tech Vaccine Site

Pfizer vaccine is authorized for people age 16+ and the Moderna vaccine is authorized for people age 18+. Appointments are now available at the Lynn Tech Vaccination Site athttps://www.lchcnet.org/covid-19-vaccine-scheduling.

City of Lynn Mobile Vaccination Efforts

The City of Lynn Department of Public Health, Lynn Community Health Center, and Mass General Brigham are pleased to announce a joint, mobile COVID-19 vaccination operation. The goal of this mobile vaccination program is to meet people where they are in order to reduce barriers to vaccination in our hard to reach communities.

Eligible community partners for mobile vaccination clinics include Lynn businesses, community organizations, or places of worship. Registration for a mobile clinic is available through the link below, and once it is submitted, staff from Lynn Community Health Center or the Lynn Department of Public Health will contact applicants as soon as possible to schedule, based on staff and vaccine supply availability. Link to register for Lynn mobile vaccine clinic: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Tl1uPZRKVE-zK_NbRzISn_hCQ5t92dBBjZJNzhlrNR5UQUdKSFc0RUhYMTVDTVhQN1JPQjZVNTIxQy4u