THE NUMBER of new COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts rose by 1,761 on Thursday, an increase of 132 over Wednesday’s number and the highest one-day jump since last spring.
The higher case numbers were reported as new measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 are taking effect on Friday – a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew; the closing of restaurants, liquor stores and entertainment venues by 9:30 p.m.; a 10-person limit on indoor gatherings and a 25-person limit on outdoor ones; and a new requirement that masks be worn in any public space even if socially distancing is possible.
Normally on Thursdays the state releases a breakdown of cases per 100,000 people for the state and for each individual municipality, but that information was not included in the weekly report and is now scheduled to be released on Friday.
The weekly report does track clusters of cases. Over the period from October 4 to October 31, 8,329 cases were tracked to household clusters and 876 cases to clusters at long-term care facilities. The numbers drop off sharply after those two categories, with the next most cases traced to clusters at places of worship (115), child cares (97), social gatherings (80), organized athletics and camps (76), congregate care facilities (75), restaurants and food courts (67), and K-12 schools (65).
Weekly data on COVID-19 cases at K-12 schools showed a decline among students and a slight increase among staff. The number of student cases fell from 201 for the week of October 22-October 28 to 154 for the week of October 29-November 4. Staff cases during those same time periods went from 85 to 98.
There are approximately 450,000 students in the state’s schools and 75,000 staff, so the number of positive cases represents a tiny portion of the total.