Worcester Residents Should Skip Thanksgiving Travel: Officials

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester officials on Thursday said explicitly what they've been implying for weeks: residents should stay at home this Thanksgiving.

Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus handed out that advice at a weekly coronavirus briefing where he announced the city had added 667 new cases since Nov. 12 — a new high since the second wave of the pandemic began this fall.

"We're asking folks to stay home," Augustus said, adding that celebrating with people you live with is OK.

Cases are climbing across the city and surrounding towns, including at colleges, nursing homes and even in city government: there are six firefighters and 12 police officers with the virus, and many more under quarantine — including one person connected to the city manager's office.

More alarming, cases are continuing to rise in city hospitals. There are 104 people being treated between UMass Memorial and Saint Vincent hospitals, a rise of 16 from Nov. 12. An additional 33 people are in intensive care in those hospitals.

Officials are bracing for sharper increases. On Thursday, crews began installing a field hospital at the DCU Center. The facility will be able to hold more than 200 people as they recover from the virus, freeing up space inside hospitals for people with more severe symptoms.

Worcester is not alone in advising residents to stay home this Thanksgiving. Coronavirus cases are surging in almost every state, and so the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday asked Americans to avoid traveling during what is typically the busiest travel time of the year.

"Right now, especially as we are seeing exponential growth in cases and the opportunity to translocate disease or infection from one part of the country to another leads, to our recommendation to avoid travel at this time," CDC COVID-19 incident manager Dr. Henry Walke said.