Hospital Admission Level Designation – Medium
Barnstable County is currently classified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as being at a medium COVID-19 hospital admission level. As of December 30, 2023, a total of forty-five (45) patients were being treated for COVID-19 at Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital. Five (5) of the forty-five patients were in intensive care at the time.
Reported Case Counts as of December 23, 2023
Town of Barnstable: 62 new cases last week; 189 new cases last month; 126.7 cases per day per 100,000 last week; 386.4 cases per 100,000 last month positivity rate 12.0% last month.
Barnstable County: 272 confirmed cases last week; 771 confirmed cases last month 118.8 cases per 100,000 last week; 336.7 cases per 1000,00 last month; 15.06% positivity last week; 11.29% positivity last month
Massachusetts: 4,811 confirmed cases last week; 15,506 confirmed cases last month; 68.4 cases per 100,00 last week; 220.6 cases per 100,000 last month; 13.45% positivity last week; 11.46% positivity last month.
Average Daily Incidence Rate in the Town of Barnstable
The average daily incidence rate of Town of Barnstable residents increased to 8.9 new cases per day during December 2023 in the Town of Barnstable.
National Update
Deaths and hospitalizations in the United States increased by 10% and 16.7%, respectively, compared to the previous week according to data provided by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Global Update
According to the latest World Health Organization (W.H.O.) report, ‘globally, the number of new cases increased by 52% during the 28-day period of November 20th to December 1,7, 2023, as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 850 000 new cases reported. The number of new deaths decreased by 8% as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 3000 new fatalities reported. As of December 17, 2023, over 772 million confirmed cases and nearly seven million deaths have been reported globally.’
The W.H.O. also reported ‘during the period from November 13th to December 10, 2023, over 118 000 new COVID-19 hospitalizations and over 1600 new intensive care unit (ICU) admissions have been recorded with an overall increase of 23% and 51% respectively amongst the countries reporting consistently within the current and past reporting periods.’
Prevention Measures
The following prevention measures are recommended by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health:
• Wash Your Hands – Keeping your hands clean is the best way to get rid of germs and stop the spread of germs to others. You can get germs on your hands by simply touching a doorknob, pressing an elevator button, grabbing a pole on public transit, or shaking hands. Once these germs are on your hands, touching your mouth or nose to eat, sneeze, or cough or touching your eyes can make you sick.
• Mask Up if you need to. Wearing a mask provides protection against the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, especially when indoors or in crowded spaces.
• Get tested if you develop any symptoms. Learn to recognize signs and symptoms of respiratory illnesses like flu, COVID-19, and RSV. If you have those symptoms, get tested.
• Get Treatment if you are COVID positive and have any symptoms, talk to your doctor right away or use Massachusetts’ quick and free telehealth service available at https://www.mass.gov/get-treated-for-covid-19
• Stay home when you have symptoms of any respiratory illness. Staying home helps prevent the spread of germs.
Contagious Viral Respiratory Diseases
For up-to-date surveillance information, data, trends, and other important information concerning contagious respiratory viruses including influenza (flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19 in Massachusetts, please visit the webpage: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/viral-respiratory-illness-reporting.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas McKean, RS, CHO,
Director of Public Health
January 3, 2024 | COVID-19 Updates | COVID-19 Hospital Admission Level Medium
