Releasing their latest report for the week ending April 16th, the Boston Public Health Commission showed a 67% increase in cases of COVID-19 among city residents over the previous week. Of the 4,763 total cases in Boston, 485 residents have required hospitalization and 122 individuals have died. [Update: As of this writing on 4/18/20, the total is 5,400 cases and 158 deaths. View Boston’s latest numbers.]
The downtown neighborhoods (North End, West End, Downtown, Back Bay and Beacon Hill) reported a total of 185 cases, or 33 cases per 10,000 residents. In the previous weekly report, there were 129 cases.
Multi-unit buildings, such as Harbor Towers, have reported the most number of positive CV-19 cases from simply having a large number of residents and perhaps close living and common areas.
The North End Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center (i.e., the North End Nursing Home) currently does not have any positive CV-19 cases but had reported three earlier cases to the public health board and those patients unfortunately passed.
Boston has been making national news as a surging hotspot, highlighted this weekend on national TV and in the Sunday Globe. The State reported 156 additional deaths on Saturday bringing the total to 1,560. The number of new cases was nearly 2,000 adding up to over 36,000 in the Commonwealth. (Latest State numbers.)
Closest to downtown, the South End neighborhood has the highest rate of positive Covid-19 tests. City officials believe that may be attributed to an effort to test everyone at Pine Street Inn. In the outer neighborhoods, residents in Hyde Park and Mattapan have the highest positive testing rates. Universal Hub postulates that those areas correlate with a large number of healthcare workers who are also being tested at a higher rate than the rest of the city residents.
Look at Hanover St the afternoon. Several motorcyclists in their costumes hanging out without masks and not distancing Why are they here? Go home! The Stanza di Sigari is cllosed!
The weather gets warmer and people let their guard down because they figure the flu season is over. Fact is, I have had a good number April sicknesses to know the sick season is behind. I am actually having dreams about being out without the mask on. Key thing to remember; don’t let your guard down. This bug is going to be around for a while.
My biggest concern is a second wave. If you research the 1918 pandemic , a second wave was more powerful and deadly than the first wave. Anyone who wears glasses knows the how difficult it is to wear your mask for any length of time. Your glasses fog up but you gotta do what you gotta do. What I’ve heard lately is ” it’s better to be 6 feet apart than six feet under”
Very few healthy young people die, from the virus, the numbers are misleading big time, they are attributing all current deaths with the virus even if they had other issues like heart attack, plus since they only testing people WITH symptoms or suspected exposure, then yes of course total cases reported positive, out of the testing size is going to seem astronomical, take the numbers 5400 cases in Boston of nearly 600,000 residents not even 10% population, the 5400 may been from maybe how many people actually tested? If they tested all 600,000 people not to mention the nearly 1.1 million travel to and through Boston on a typical day for work, the countless medical providers, bankers, lawyers and so on and so on so 1.6 or 1.7 million people not mention the nearly additional college student nesrly another what 300,000 possibly you talking a city nearly 2 million, with inly 5400 cases now more near to less then 4 % deaths being out of positive test results majority them even at 60% being elderly, or having underlying conditions heart disease, cancer, lung disease, obesity, or some other, means that the other 40% possibly could have had the virus but died from unrelated may died natural heart attack maybe they had virus but heart gave out, that happens daily in trh US, even with advanced life support, and all we lose millions of people a day, nationwide from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, infections, car accidents, violence, suicides, any of those people today who may have died regardless of covid 19 or not the government is chalking it up as coronoavirus deaths, just because they had the virus at time of death, not taking into account the heart was in real bad shape that they were due heart transplant before all surgeries were shut down, so did coronavirus actually kill the person or bad living th person whole life, the careless way they took care of themselves, most people 95% get it will have very mild symptoms or none at all and in 14 to 21 days be completly healed and fine, the 3% will be more serious, but requirer rather short hospital stay no intensive care needed, the other 2% will require more intense care those be elderly over age 55,those with immune compromised like AIDS,CANCER,HEART DISEASE, BRONCHITIS, ASTHMA, AND OTHERS of those 1 in maybe every 100 may die of complications of those 2 maybe 3 % may die from.the virus or thr pneumonia that results, many more will die from the underlying AIDS,CANCER,HEART DISEASE, LUNG DISEASE, DIABETES, OBESITY,OR VIOLENCE OR SUICIDES, now doesnt make coronsvirus seem so scary and deadly does it if you break it down that way. But of course the CDC and WHO and federal and state and local officials have a narrative they must adhere to, in order to justify their power stuggle, thier insane need to lock everyone down, to dictate rights to be violated. , remember this is election year, and see already if virus was so bad there would be NO bickering about democrats versus Republicans for money, for testing, for blaming one or more for lives lost, yet both sides are bickering and trying blame someone for even one life lost,it is the narrative to help ensure an election win, the house blames the President not doing more, the governors blame the feds not doing more, repiblicans blame democrats for holding up funds, the democrats blame republicans for only looking out for the rich business owners, not the needy, so if this virus is so bad why does it take days to pass funding for testing, for help for people hurting, for PPE for medical providers,just mesns they see the true facts those not released to public, they realize it not that bad, but if they admitted it, then people be calling theri removal from office, to being way overblown and way to draconian like crackdowns this is not China. They would lose all sense of respect and people would not trust the President, CDC,WHO. Or state or local leaders any longer, they would say they over reacted, and locked all down like prison without good cause violated our rights and freedoms in the NAME OF PUBLIC HEALTH, so the one place they all agree on is lying to the American people, and we know they do so all the time, take campaign promises, take all the lies about, wars and lies about weapons mass destruction, or who killed who,look at pearl harbor, or 911, or any other issue the government knew about but covered up just to play hero later to the people. Nothing get people out to vote, and to stand behind their leaders then like a common enemy, Japan during WWII, or hijackers during 911, or coronavirus now
You are correct to a certain extent. As an healthcare worker there is much not being disclosed. Coronavirus itself has proven to not be as deadly as first thought…as the numbers show. Most of the media hype is political agenda for Fed money. Are people ill from this? Yes. Have people died? Yes. The deaths are the elderly living in deplorable conditions in nursing homes, homeless shelters, depressed neighborhoods, people with pre – existing conditions that left them vulnerable to the virus. The younger age group individuals who are positive have opened themselves up to the virus through vaping, smoking cigarettes, smoking marijuana, not being sanitary (the main reason for this spread!!!), and ignoring social distancing. A great example of general carelessness in the average person….and I have personally seen way more than I wish too as have you yourself and anybody else can attest! ….before the Stay at Home the last time I sat at a bar with my friends, an older couple (50’s ish) seemingly educated with professional jobs felt the need to interject into our conversation to tell us to make sure to wash our clothes and keep using sanitizer! …the husband of the interruptive woman preceeded to grab cocktail napkins, blow/wipe his nose and leave the dirty napkins on the bar!!!!! This was literally days before restaurants and bars closed!! Lack of good sanitary habits and the lack of education on good sanitary habits is the killer. Along with self-entitlement as I witnessed in that obnoxious couple. How to care for yourself is the savior. How does the general public think healthcare professionals do not get sick and die by the 1000’s every season? Sanitary habits and protocol. WASH YOUR HANDS…COVER YOUR MOUTH…if feeling ill…STAY HOME! … but another social and economic problem….many employers will fire or cut back hours on an employee who does call out…sad but true, so sick people go to work and expose and infect others…of all age groups, ethnics, etc….If the general public practiced good hygiene , and if the governing officials would spend money on educating the public…maybe this horrific circumstance we are living would be better or different.. But even though the virus hasn’t caused the number of deaths that are being documented, the virus being present in these individuals certainly complicated things. In Scandinavian countries the vulnerable are being kept home and quarantined, with the public socially distancing, using sanitizer, and generally being smart…and these Socialist countries did not shut down their economies…people are working, going to restaurants, but could this be successful here in USA? I doubt it, even though it would be nice. Even though I have more patients, I can handle it…the nurses and doctors crying about patient loads, lack of equipment etc… complained before the shut down , these complaints are nothing new. But it must be known that people strolling around wearing face masks on the streets and in their cars when we in the hospitals are short on these is a joke! That isn’t being socially aware and careful but self indulgent! Again proper education on hygiene and self care is needed, along with stricter health codes for restaurants, bars, markets …not Zombie Apocalypse fear fomenting.
“But it must be known that people strolling around wearing face masks on the streets and in their cars when we in the hospitals are short on these is a joke!”
The vast, VAST majority of folks I see wearing face coverings are NOT using face masks which are medical grade….so you are losing credibility.
All I know is the Sunday Globe obits are usually 3 or 4 pages. This week it was 16 pages. That should be enough for everyone to listen to the medical experts and take this seriously.
Eric & the Mass General intern, it seems to me that each of you have been drinking the Kool aid from the Fox news fountain. Listening to idiots like “Dr Phil, Dr Oz, and another whackjob Dr Drew. Out and out racists like Laura Ingram and Sean Hannity. They lifted up the rock that Bill O’Reilly lives under and had him phone in for an interview . This is what he said ” most of the people who have died from the virus , where on their last legs anyway” I’m not going to quote any of the misinformation & conspiracy theories that each of you wrote, but to the intern I suggest getting into another field. We all could do without your callous words and caviller attitude toward the 40,ooo people who have lost their lives. Why don’t you go speak to their families. Every life is priceless and precious. Shame on both of you.
Some times I have to laugh when I hear people complain about these opinion fountains that pose as news and information resources. If it offends thee, then turn it off. Seems like peopl watch them to raise their blood pressure. I have been following the John Hopkins Covid site which is a collection of numbers and graphs. Looking at other areas, most places show a second phase. It almost looks like the human instinct toward complacency sets in as things look good and then a spike. The spike brings dispare, a sense of reality and then the downward trend resumes. Massachusetts is in the spike phase, if this isn’t a wake then look forward to a long hot summer and no resorts to go to.
Hey Eric J…..
Do you got elderly parents? Do you have children? Do you have a spouse? I want to see you put all those people you love into the heart of the strongest contaminated area (Mattapan, Roxbury, Roslindale) to live for the next six months and fend for themselves. At the end of six months, you and I will talk.
The intern is involved on a daily basis working to save our lives. How dare you find fault with his comment. He is a doctor. Your comments are beyond reprehensible. Small minded. Petty, Nasty.
Re-opening is going to be a difficult task- especially for the North End. The sad reality, is that without a vaccine- a resurgence is almost all but guaranteed. The majority of restaurants are jam packed shoulder to shoulder in less than 750 sq ft of space. The measures implemented to open things up will be fascinating…in the meantime, I see no other choice but to maintain social distancing until a proven vaccine hits the market.
I notice something this week, where the John Hopkins CDC site changed the metric for counting cases. They had been counting lab tested cases, now they added presumptive positive cases to their numbers. This showed a huge jump. The majority of presumptive positive have been coming back negative. This is disconcerting, in that there was no announcement and yes the numbers did jump all,of a sudden. Leaves me wondering whether the jump in cases is real, or just change in metric factor. More important is the number of active cases presently. This number has been going down.