4 Years Since Pandemic: Where MA Stands With CDC Isolation Rules Changing

MASSACHUSETTS — It feels like forever ago, but this time four years ago, Massachusetts had confirmed its first case of the then-mysterious coronavirus. The superspreader event at the Biogen conference at the Marriott Long Wharf would take place on Feb. 26. Two weeks after that, former governor Charlie Baker would declare a state of emergency. Schools across the state would shut down a few days after.

While many have moved on from the pandemic — which the World Health Organization officially ended less than a year ago in May — the virus is still circulating widely in Massachusetts and across the nation. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reportedly set to reduce the COVID-19 isolation time, it's worth checking in on where virus stands locally compared to other points in the pandemic.

Over the week ending Feb. 10, the state had just over 3,000 confirmed cases of the virus, and recorded 32 deaths. Cases have been dropping steadily since the season peaked this year over the week ending Jan. 6 with about 6,900 cases, according to state data.

At this same time last year, cases were much higher: the COVID-19 season peaked at 11,800 cases over the week ending Dec. 31, 2022; there were 5,500 cases over the week ending Feb. 11.

Perhaps the only week worth mentioning is the seven days ending Jan. 8, 2022. That's when the state recorded about 179,000 cases — the height of the omicron variant's march across the state. The peak in 2020 came the week of April 13 with about 15,300 cases, according to state data.

RELATED: A Pandemic Timeline 2 Years Into MA State Of Emergency

By comparison, the COVID-19 winter season of 2023-24 has been the mildest since the virus emerged, with one very important caveat: the state is not doing widespread COVID-19 testing anymore, so cases might be much higher than state data show. The last of the state-funded testing sites closed in March 2023.

Coronavirus trends can still be seen in wastewater data published by the state. Massachusetts Water Resource Authority data, for example, shows the concentration of COVID-19 in wastewater in the Boston area peaked around New Year's Day. Levels have fallen since, but are well above the period around Thanksgiving and earlier last autumn.

COVID-19 is killing fewer people than during any other winter virus season since 2020. COVID-19 deaths peaked the week ending April 25, 2020, at nearly 1,300. So far in 2024, about 240 people have died due to the virus.

At the same time, COVID-19 vaccination rates are low compared to other seasonal vaccines. Only about 20 percent of Massachusetts residents got a COVID-19 vaccine for this season; about 40 percent of the state is vaccinated against the flu (the second-lowest out of the past five flu seasons).

It's possible virus trends could change this season, or next season. The CDC has signaled it will reduce COVID-19 isolation time down from five days to 24 hours after a person has been fever-free and has mild symptoms. That news comes as COVID-19-related hospital admissions fell 10 percent last week across the U.S., and deaths fell 6 percent.