Community Level Designation
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to classify Barnstable County as being at a medium COVID-19 community level. Community levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital admissions and the total number of COVID-19 cases in an area.
Reported Case Counts and Deaths
Town of Barnstable: 12,545 total cases (positive residents) cumulatively to date, 132 new cases during the last two weeks.
Barnstable County: 49,064 cases, 451 new cases in the last two weeks; 765 deaths cumulatively, 7 deaths in the last two weeks
Massachusetts: 2,010,024 cases of State of Massachusetts residents cumulatively to date, 9,575 cases in the last two weeks; 22,030 deaths cumulatively, 240deaths in the past two weeks, 92 deaths during the past seven days. The average age of death during the past week was 79 years old.
United States: According to John Hopkins University, there have been a total of 102,830,406 positive COVID-19 cases cumulatively in the United States, 1,114,249 nationwide deaths cumulatively as of February 10, 2023.
Local Hospitalizations
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Barnstable County continues to decrease, as was repeatedly reported during the past several weeks. According to Cape Cod Healthcare, there were a total of sixteen (16) patients being treated for COVID-19 at Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals on February 8, 2023. One patient was in intensive care.
National Update
Deaths and hospitalizations in the United States decreased by 10 % and 6%, respectively, compared to the previous week according to website data provided by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Also, the number of positive new cases decreased by 1% compared to the previous week.
Global Update
Globally, 90,000 deaths and nearly 10.5 million new cases were reported during the past 28 days (January 9th to February 5th), a decrease of 8% and 89%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
It is estimated that at least 90% of the world’s population has some level of immunity to COVID-19 due to vaccination or infection. The Director of the World Health Organization is hopeful that the world will transition out of the emergency phase of the pandemic this year, particularly if access to the counter-measures can be improved globally.
Prevention Steps
The following prevention steps are recommended by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
• If you are at high risk of getting very sick, wear a high-quality mask or respirator.
• If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk for getting very sick, consider self-testing to detect infection before contact, and consider wearing a high-quality mask when indoors with them
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
• Avoid contact with people who have suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
• Follow recommendations for isolation if you have suspected or confirmed COVID-19 (stay at home for five days, do not travel, wear a mask, etc).
• Follow the recommendations for what to do if you are exposed to someone with COVID-19 (i.e. wear a mask, get tested if you develop symptoms).
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas McKean, RS, CHO
Director of Public Health
TOWN OF BARNSTABLE
February 10, 2023 COVID-19 Updates | Community Level – Medium
