Coronavirus Cripples Worcester Fire Dept.; 110 Sidelined By Virus

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester added a pandemic record 3,500 new coronavirus cases over the last week, an astronomical surge that's weakened staffing in schools, City Hall and in key public safety departments.

Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said that 110 city firefighters are either out sick with COVID-19 or absent due to an exposure. The department is near a point where further increase of the virus could interrupt public safety services.

"The [COVID-19] case you may be cavalierly passing on to someone else, if we can't get a police officer or a firefighter to you in a timely way, that's what we're talking about in this surge," he said during a Wednesday news conference.

As of Wednesday, 240 city and 265 Worcester Public Schools employees were out of work due to the virus, Augustus said. On Thursday, the city is moving to an appointment-only system for City Hall business. That's a measure to stop the spread, Augustus said, but also due to high absences.

Worcester broke three pandemic records over the past week: the highest weekly increase at 3,513; the highest one-day increase at 1,094 on Wednesday; and the highest seven-day average new case load at 501.86. During the last surge one year ago, Worcester's seven-day new case average was around 195 per day.

• Want to get a vaccine in Worcester? Visit the city's COVID-19 vaccine website.
• Want to get a COVID-19 test in Worcester? Here's when the Mercantile Center site is open.

The increase in cases is largely due to the new omicron variant, which may be more mild than other strains, especially for triple-vaccinated people. But the more serious delta variant is also still in the mix, officials said. Residents should take precautions like getting vaccinated and wearing better masks — like KN95, KN95 and N95 versions — to prevent an even higher surge.

"Our fates are inextricably linked here. We need to do all we can," Augustus said.