Worcester Adds 191 New Coronavirus Cases, Biggest Swing Since May

WORCESTER, MA — Coronavirus has roared back in Worcester — and across the state — after a summer downturn.

Worcester added 191 new coronavirus cases over the past week, which is the most in a single week dating back to the end of May. At this point in the pandemic, nearly 7,000 city residents have contracted the virus, and nearly 300 have died.

Worcester's big swing came on the same day the state Department of Public Health released its weekly report on coronavirus infections in communities across the state. There are now 77 cities and towns — including Worcester — on the high-risk list, a rise of 14 compared to last week.

City Manager Edward Augustus Jr., standing in front of a new city memorial featuring 296 roses arranged in a heart, one for each Worcester resident who has died of COVID-19, noted that the city is "on the wrong track."

"This is about human beings, about individual people who had names and families and stories and lives before this pandemic started," Augustus said. "And they're now gone. Everything we're doing every day ... is to try to prevent any more residents of Worcester being lost to this pandemic."

Officials said that the trend of young people catching the virus is continuing. Augustus said 614 people under age 19 have contracted the virus. Another 15 percent of cases were in people between 20 and 29.

And although Worcester's colleges and universities have not been a major contributor of new cases, Augustus noted an outbreak in Worcester State University students living in off-campus housing. Six students have tested positive at the school over the past week.

Worcester Medical Director Dr. Michael Hirsh said that there's also an increase in cases in the city's hospitals — and an increase in "acuity," meaning the severity of COVID-19 cases. The Family Health Center of Worcester and the Edward M Kennedy Community Health Center are also seeing an "alarming" rise in the share of people testing positive.

City leaders had one message for local residents, the same one they've been preaching since March: wear masks, social distance and do everything you can to avoid spreading or contracting the virus.

"I would ask people to think back on what they were doing differently in the spring," Hirsh said. "I think that we really have to look hard at how we can get back that feeling of tightening up. We just have to tighten everything up."