New coronavirus cases in Worcester County smashed records this week, with 4,070 new cases as of Thursday, continuing a distressing post-Thanksgiving trend.
That number and the statewide one 33,446 cases in seven days both blew by previous highs, according to Massachusetts Department of Public Health data. The city of Worcester also set a new single-week record for the city: 1,268 new cases, bringing the tally so far to 11,395. The governor used the term skyrocketing. That is accurate, the city s commissioner of health and human services, Dr. Matilde Castiel, said in a press conference Thursday. We re now seeing a spike from Thanksgiving.
Those spiking numbers have spurred the opening of a field hospital at the DCU Center in Worcester and another one planned in Lowell, as well as business operations restrictions meant to more sharply limit how many people can gather in one place.