Covid-19 Cases Trend Down In Mass., Spike In More Than A Dozen Other States
BOSTON (CBS) - The Commonwealth is gaining ground in the fight against COVID-19.
"The average positive test rate, on that 7-day running average, is now down to 3.8 percent," said Governor Charlie Baker Friday. "Reflecting about an 87% reduction since April 15th."
And as the economy trickles back to work, one leading epidemiologist says we must remain vigilant to avoid a backslide.
"We know from the numbers that the virus is certainly there," said Dr. Erica Shenoy, associate chief of the infection control unit at Massachusetts General. "Any virus out there in a population that is not immune, where we don't really have protection, means an [infected] person can lead to additional infections."
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, nearly 22 million people have been tested in the U.S. This week, the country surpassed two million confirmed cases. And in the last 14 days, at least 19 states have seen an increase in daily new coronavirus cases.
On Friday, Florida reported a new record high of daily COVID-19 cases. The state slowly began to re-open back in May.
"It is possible that in some of these areas their testing is expanding," said Dr. Shenoy. "But it's also possible that they're in a different stage of the outbreak than we are in right now."
Following a tour of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said it's too early to tell if the spike in cases is connected to the loosening of restrictions. "At this point, in terms of a connection to reopening, the data doesn't seem to support that. It's still too early to draw that type of conclusion," Secretary Azar said Friday.
Dr. Shenoy stressed that continuing to drive a downward trend starts with everyone doing their part. Stay home if you're not feeling well, practice good hand hygiene and wear face coverings when you're around others.
"If you are by a chance infected and you don't know it, you wearing a mask is protecting other people from being exposed," Shenoy said. "When you wear it, you have to wear it covering your mouth and nose. That's where the secretions come out of. And that's where you are potentially exposed if someone sneezes or coughs and the infection gets into you."
