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: 12,595 total cases (positive residents) cumulatively to date, 101 new cases during the last two weeks. Average daily incidence rate 14.7 per 100,000 (LOWER); positivity rate 10.6% (LOWER).
Barnstable County: 49,249 cases, 400 new cases in the last two weeks; 769 deaths cumulatively, 8 deaths during the last two weeks.
Massachusetts: 2,014,494 cases of State of Massachusetts residents cumulatively to date, 8,822 cases in the last two weeks; 22,132 deaths cumulatively, 222 deaths in the past two weeks, 102 deaths during the past seven days. The average age of death during the past week was 78 years old.
United States: According to John Hopkins University, there have been a total of 103,088,328 positive COVID-19 cases cumulatively in the United States, 1,117,113 nationwide deaths cumulatively as of February 17, 2023.
Local Hospitalizations
According to Cape Cod Healthcare, there were a total of nineteen (19) patients being treated for COVID-19 at Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals on February 15, 2023. One patient was in intensive care.
National Update
Deaths and hospitalizations in the United States decreased by 10% and 5%, respectively, compared to the previous week according to data provided by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Also, the number of positive new cases decreased by 8% compared to the previous week.
Global Update
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 6.7 million new cases and over 64,000 deaths were reported globally in the last 28 days (from January 16th to February 12, 2023), a decrease of 92% and 47%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days. As of February 12, 2023, over 755 million confirmed cases and over 6.8 million deaths have been reported globally.
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.
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