Already in a COVID surge, Fall River sees another spike in cases — including 24 students
FALL RIVER — This past week saw 249 new cases of COVID reported in Fall River — a significant jump at a time when cases are already surging.
The city has seen almost as many new cases this past week as all of June and July combined.
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Since the start of the COVID pandemic last spring, 15,653 cases of COVID have been reported in Fall River. Statistically, more than one out of every six people in the city have had COVID at some point.
The state Department of Public Health’s figures, released Thursday, show COVID cases in Fall River at their highest point since early April. The city is already experiencing another wave of new cases that began in early July and has been climbing ever since.
The DPH report said that 19 people died of COVID over the two weeks in Bristol County. It’s not known how many of those fatalities were Fall River residents — the city’s Health Department has not released statistics on local COVID deaths since May, and has not responded to multiple requests for updated information.
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This week last year, Fall River was reporting an average of 6.7 new COVID cases per day. This last week saw an average of 35.6 — a more than fivefold increase, and a discouraging sign heading into fall. It’s not fully understood if COVID infections follow a seasonal pattern, but last year local cases skyrocketed in fall and winter.
Higher case numbers this year may also be due to the rise and spread of the COVID delta variant, which is more than two times as transmissible as previous incarnations of the COVID virus and other variants, and is thought to be one of the most transmissible respiratory viruses known. The CDC reports that the delta variant now accounts for 99.4% of all COVID cases nationwide.
Higher COVID rates, higher hospitalizations
Fall River’s COVID test positivity rate is several percentage points higher than the state average, with 4.96% of all tests coming positive, compared to 2.35% statewide.
According to the CDC and DPH, COVID hospitalizations have also been up since early August. On Thursday, the DPH reported that 14 patients at Charlton Memorial Hospital were hospitalized with COVID, five of them in the ICU; Saint Anne’s Hospital had 11 COVID patients, one in intensive care.
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COVID in Greater Fall River
The surge pattern holds true for Greater Fall River towns, too. In Freetown, Somerset, Swansea and Westport, 140 more cases of COVID were reported. A month ago, they'd collectively reported 66 new cases; a month before that, only five cases.
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Vaccinations
Every city and town in Greater Fall River has surpassed the 50% mark in terms of full vaccinations. Full vaccination against COVID means being two weeks out from receiving the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine or the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna two-shot vaccines.
Cases of COVID in Greater Fall River schools
According to a report by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 24 students and seven staff members at Fall River Public Schools have contracted COVID in the past week.
A handful of cases have been reported at other local school districts, including:
- Diman, five students and one staff member
- Somerset, six students
- Somerset Berkley, two students
- Swansea, five students
- Atlantis Charter School, four students and one staffer
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.