Reported coronavirus cases statewide for the week ending Oct.12 decreased from 1,326 to 970 from the week ending Oct. 5. It’s the first time the reported cases have dipped below 1,000 in months, according to figures released by the state Department of Public Health.
That’s a decrease of 356 reported cases which equals 26.84%.
In the 10 communities covered by The Sun Chronicle — Attleboro, Foxboro, Mansfield, Norfolk, North Attleboro, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth, Seekonk and Wrentham — reported cases increased by four, from 30 to 34, in the week ending Oct. 12 over the previous week. That’s a percentage increase of 11.76%.
Over the last 35 weeks, the number of reported cases exceeded the 22 recorded on June 29 by 12 reported cases.
Over the last 35 weeks statewide, the number has gone from 4,999 to 970 cases, a decrease of 80.59%.
In the week ending Oct. 12, one community covered by The Sun Chronicle, Norfolk, reported zero cases.
There were 392 coronavirus tests administered by medical health professionals in the 10 communities covered by The Sun Chronicle with 34 positives, or 8.67%.
The average for the 10 communities is 8.66%. That’s a increase of nine tests from the 383 recorded in the week of Oct. 5, which equals a 2.34% increase.
Not all the positive cases found through home-testing are reported to health officials. Also, many people who become ill with COVID-like symptoms — fever, congestion, sneezing, fatigue, body aches, and headaches — don’t bother testing as the virus has weakened and the symptoms caused by the virus are less severe.
For context, the highest number of new cases statewide for one week was recorded on Jan. 14, 2022, at 132,557.
The highest number locally for one week was 3,463, recorded on Jan. 13, 2022.
All told, since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the area has recorded 51,775 cases. That’s 25.78% of the 200,793 population in the 10 communities covered by The Sun Chronicle.
Percentages of the disease in each community range from 22% to 29% and the average is 25.15%
Norfolk is the lowest, at 22.40%, and Attleboro is the highest, at 29.21%.
In the week ending Oct. 12, the case counts in each of the 10 communities were:
- Attleboro, 8
- Foxboro, 3
- Mansfield, 1
- Norfolk, 0
- North Attleboro, 5
- Norton, 3
- Plainville, 1
- Rehoboth, 3
- Seekonk, 6
- Wrentham, 4
Statewide, the number was 970 confirmed cases with 275 probable cases.
The number of confirmed deaths statewide for the week of Oct. 12 was 10 and the number of probable deaths was 0.
The number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases statewide since March 2020 is 2,198,518. That’s 31.31% of the state’s 7,020,058 population.
The number of confirmed deaths since March 2020 is 23,682, and the number of confirmed and probable deaths is 30,143. That’s a death rate of 1.37%.
A recent poll for the 10 communities covered by The Sun Chronicle reported the total number of deaths at 528. That’s a death rate of 1.02%.
The latest death totals per community covered by The Sun Chronicle were:
- Attleboro, 202
- Foxboro, 30
- Mansfield, 44
- Norfolk, 9
- North Attleboro, 99
- Norton, 18
- Plainville, 23
- Rehoboth, 23
- Seekonk, 15
- Wrentham, 66
Most of the deaths were by those 65 and over.
