A week after Mayor Michelle Wu imposed new restrictions on certain indoor activities due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, 1 out of every 10 residents from Charlestown tested for COVID were found to be positive last week according to the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC).
Last week, Wu announced that beginning on January 15 the City of Boston both patrons and employees of indoor venues–including indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment establishments–will be required to show proof of vaccination. Wu said individuals can demonstrate vaccination by showing their CDC vaccination card or a photo of their card, any official immunization record or digital image from a pharmacy or health care provider, or on any COVID-19 vaccine verification app. Boston’s indoor mask mandate remains in effect.
According to the weekly report released Monday by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), 1,160 Charlestown residents were tested and 10.4 percent were found to be positive–this was a 42 percent increase from the 7.3 percent that tested positive between December 13 and December 20. So far the weekly positive test rate has increased 53 percent week over week since December 13. The citywide weekly positive test rate also neared 10 percent last week. According to the BPHC 36,806 residents were tested and 9.4 percent were COVID positive–this was a 40 percent increase from the 6.7 percent that reportedly tested positive for the week ending on December 20. One hundred twenty additional Charlestown residents tested positive for the virus last week and the number of positive cases increased to 2,139 overall since the start of the pandemic.
The statistics released by the BPHC as part of its weekly COVID19 report breaks down the number of cases and infection rates in each neighborhood. It also breaks down the number of cases by age, gender and race. Citywide positive cases of coronavirus increased 8.2 percent last week and went from 95,790 cases to 103,667confirmed cases in a week. There were 12 additional deaths in Boston from the virus in the past week and the total COVID deaths is now at 1,503.