Barnstable County sees slight rise in COVID-19 rate and cases

The state Department of Public Health said in a weekly report Thursday that the positivity rate for COVID-19 testing in Barnstable County has risen, as has the incidence rate.

State public health officials said Barnstable County saw 537 new cases of COVID-19 over the most recent 14-day period for a testing positivity rate of 3.36% and an incidence rate per 100,000 population of 17.7.

Last Thursday the state reported that during that same time period Barnstable County had 484 new cases, with a testing positivity rate of 3.05% and an incidence rate per 100,000 population of 16.

In its daily report on Thursday, the DPH said Massachusetts had 1,267 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus and 114 new probably cases, for a total of 784,800 confirmed cases and 56,398 probable cases since the start of the pandemic.

There were 20 newly confirmed deaths of people with COVID-19, for a pandemic total of 18,505, and one new death of someone with a probable case for a total of 391.

The average age of death from COVID-19 is 74.

Over the past two weeks, the age decile, or segment, with the largest number of coronavirus cases is age 30 to 39 bracket, with 2,878 cases.

Also in the DPH daily report, Barnstable County had 35 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 for a total of 17,534 cases and and one death for a total of 515.

State public health officials said in their Thursday report that 532 people are hospitalized in Massachusetts with COVID-19, including 11 at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis and three at Falmouth Hospital. 

Three of the coronavirus patients at Cape Cod Hospital were in the intensive care unit.

The DPH weekly report on Thursday said Barnstable, the Cape's largest town, had 106 new COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks with a positivity rate for testing of 3.17%.

The positivity testing rate for that period in Massachusetts was 1.83%.

The number of new cases over the last 14-day period and positivity rates for the other Cape Cod towns follows:

Bourne (59; 3.38%); Brewster (13; 1.66%); Chatham (less than five; 1.02%); Dennis (45; 4.26%) Eastham (eight; 3.03%); Falmouth (86; 3.73%); Harwich (19; 1.94%); Mashpee (37; 3.36%); Orleans (12; 3.67%); Provincetown (less than five; 2.07%); Sandwich (53; 3.74%); Truro (seven; 5.22%); Wellfleet (18; 7.6%); Yarmouth (67; 3.88%).