COVID Transmission in Essex County and Peabody, Massachusetts

Jerry Halberstadt Sat, 04/23/2022 - 20:45

May 19, 2022. Information about transmission and ongoing current infections in Essex County and Peabody, Massachusetts. Links to data sources enable the reader to learn the situation in their locality. The sources used are the CDC data on transmission; levels of COVID found in wastewater; and % positivity in Essex County and Peabody. These are all leading indicators preceding cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

For detailed information about strategies for protecting yourself and your community, see: The New "How to Avoid COVID"

CDC/Commonwealth data on transmission

Map of Massachusetts showing community transmission levels
Current 7-days is Thu May 12 2022 - Wed May 18 2022 for case rate and Tue May 10 2022 - Mon May 16, 2022, for percent positivity.   Chart unchanged.

Source: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=Massachusetts&data-type=Risk&list_select_county=25009

In Essex County, continuing increases in positivity, 9.31%

Biobot wastewater counts for Northern Region, at Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Deer Island: May 17, n=~1,300 viral RNA copies/mL  

Biobot wastewater counts for Essex County: May 11, most recent value, 1,352 virus copies / mL

UPDATE FOR PEABODY 01960 on May 19, 2022

Reported on:    5/19
Period:      5/1/2022 to 5/14/2022

Peabody 14-day Percent Positivity: 9.62%

Essex County 14-day Percent Positivity: 7.44%
 

The Peabody Board of Health repealed the indoor mask mandate on Friday, 11 February, 2022.

Leading Indicators of COVID in the Community

COVID-19 Dashboard

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, COVID-19 Dashboard, Weekly Data by City and Town This is the source for positivity data cited in this paper.

Wastewater COVID-19 Tracking  by Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

Evidence of COVID in wastewater samples has emerged as a leading indicator of COVID infections likely to appear in ~10 days.

Test results from MWRA’s pilot study to track wastewater at the Deer Island Treatment Plant for indicators of COVID-19 infection are posted on this site.

Samples are currently taken 3 - 7 times a week and analyzed by Biobot Analytics, a wastewater epidemiology company. Data are updated as received by Biobot following an internal review process. The North district includes Essex County.

For Essex county wastewater data, go to Biobotic Analytics

 

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COVID-19
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