Wayland Coronavirus Deaths Continues To Rise

WAYLAND, MA — The number of coronavirus deaths in Wayland rose again over the last week to a total of 17 — that's seven more than were reported over the first week of May. Meanwhile, there are signs that the virus is slowing down across the state.

Wayland has generally been releasing data on coronavirus infections in town every Friday. The numbers released on May 15 show a total of 17 deaths, and 95 total infections over the course of the pandemic — that's about a 10.4 percent increase over the previous week.

Out of those total 95 cases, 32 people have recovered, leaving 46 active cases. Of those 46, 2 were hospitalized, and 44 were recovering outside a hospital. The number of active case is slightly higher than the 42 reported on May 8.

However, only 32 of the town's total 95 cases are in residents. The remaining 63 are either residents or staff at local senior and long-term care facilities.

The demographic breakdown for the total 95 cases so far, according to the Wayland Board of Health:

• Cases in women — 50
• Cases in men — 45
• Ages 20 to 39 — 11 cases
• Ages 40 to 59 — 17 cases
• Ages 60 to 79 — 21 cases
• Ages 80 to 99 — 43 cases
• Age 100 and up — 3 cases

Although the virus is still rampant across the state, officials believe that the virus is in decline. Indicators like COVID-19 deaths and hospitalization rates are "in progress," according to the state Department of Public Health.

On Monday, state officials reported 87,052 cases statewide so far and 5,862 deaths. The death toll only increased by 65 on Monday after weeks with daily triple-digit increases. The number of hospitalizations fell for the five days leading up to May 17 to a two-month low of 2,533.