Coronavirus Rising In Worcester After Summer Lull: Officials

WORCESTER, MA — Coronavirus cases increased for the third straight week in Worcester on Wednesday, a trend that has city officials concerned that residents are letting down their guard after cases began slowing at the beginning of the summer.

The number of cases in Worcester rose by 97 over the last week to pandemic total of 5,577. Cases rose by 88 last week, and 63 on July 23. Worcester has seen an average of 14 new cases per day in recent weeks, officials said.

Wednesday also marked the first coronavirus press conference the city has held since June 25 — and officials had warned they would bring back the daily briefings if cases began to rise.

"All the alarm bells we've been talking about today are real," Worcester Medical Director Michael Hirsh said Wednesday.

The rise is likely due to a number of factors, including summer social gatherings, businesses reopening, and young people bringing the virus home to multifamily households.

During the week of July 26, the city saw 14 clusters of infections that resulted in 32 people getting sick, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said. It's possible that families are mingling at barbecues and in other social situations and not wearing masks or observing social distancing, he said.

"It really is important even if you're a family getting together that you continue to abide by those social distance recommendations and the mask wearing," Augustus said.

There's also been an uptick of young people in Worcester testing positive for the virus. Hirsh said that young people are not necessarily showing symptoms, but are perfectly capable of spreading the virus. That trend is of particular concern as Worcester prepares to welcome thousands of college students back in a few weeks.

Another component is businesses and people disobeying safety guidelines, like wearing masks. Phase 3 of the state reopening plan started on July 6, which allowed some indoor activities to resume. Restaurants have been open across the city since the beginning of phase 2. Beaches and pools have also reopened in warm weather.

The city has fielded 240 complaints about mask violations since May. Many of the complaints were about restaurants, barber shops, retail stores, and other businesses. And about 53 locations had repeat violations.

Worcester will begin sending out teams of workers — including police, firefighters, public health and building inspectors — to make sure businesses and patrons are complying with safety guidelines. The city will followup with fines if necessary, Augustus said.

There are a few geographic clusters, too. The Union Hill and Pleasant Street neighborhoods have seen a rise in cases. On Monday, the city and UMass held a free testing clinic in Main South, and more of those are coming to other neighborhoods. That testing clinic was a success, with 632 out of 680 people tested receiving negative results.

"With a month left in summer, we need to keep our social distancing in place," Mayor Joseph Petty said.