While Sunderland remains in the state’s “red” category because of a surge in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19, the rest of the county’s towns have seen a decrease in those numbers.
Sunderland reported 33 new positive cases over the past two weeks, possibly because of the surge in positive cases at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, while Montague was the only town in Franklin County in the “yellow” or higher-risk category with 23 new cases reported in that time. Athol in Worcester County is also in the “yellow” with 43 new cases. Greenfield is the only town in the “green” or lower-risk category, with 23 cases reported over the past two weeks.
There are eight towns with zero cases reported over the past two weeks: Charlemont, Conway, Erving, Hawley, Heath, Leverett, Monroe and Rowe. The remainder of towns, including Petersham, Phillipston and Royalston in Worcester County, are in the “gray” or lowest-risk category, with all of them reporting less than five cases, except Orange, which reported six cases over the past two weeks.
Public Health Nurse Melanie Ames Zamojski with the Cooperative Public Health Service District said overall the numbers are lower. Several days ago she said it is too early to attribute the decrease in numbers to vaccination.
“Most of the people who have received both vaccines are in the health care field or in skilled nursing facilities,” Zamojski said.
She said with Phase 2 of the vaccination having started just recently, only a percentage of those eligible have received the first dose of the vaccine.
“Probably the decrease in numbers is due to a decrease in travel; holiday travel is over and the subsequent and related positive cases were isolated and close contacts were quarantined as per the state guidelines,” she said. “Those measures really helped to limit the spread.”
Testing continues throughout the county of both symptomatic and asymptomatic people. There are several sites where people can get tested:
■Stop The Spread at Greenfield Community College: register at bit.ly/3ud7WRI.
■Community Health Center of Franklin County open Tuesdays in Greenfield and Fridays in Orange: visit www.chcfc.org/testing.
■Valley Medical Group offers testing for its patients, with an appointment, for any reason Mondays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 413-774-6301.
■UMass Community COVID Testing: Register at bit.ly/3schIlc.
■Baystate Franklin Medical Center tests daily on High Street. A physician referral and appointment are required. Register at bit.ly/3pDhC4u or call 413-795-8378.
Three nursing homes in Franklin County, along with Quabbin Valley Healthcare in Athol, reported no current COVID-19 cases among their residents or staff, who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in January and have either received the second dose or will very soon.
The nursing homes, with the exception of the Farren Care Center on Montague City Road in Turners Falls, were hit hard during the early months of the pandemic. The Farren has reported it has had between “one and 10” cases since the pandemic began and there have been no COVID-19-related deaths there.
Buckley HealthCare Center on Laurel Street in Greenfield reported a total of 26 deaths since March 2020, while Charlene Manor Extended Care on Colrain Road in Greenfield reported 21 COVID-19-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic and Poet’s Seat Health Care Center on High Street in Greenfield reported 20 deaths since then. Quabbin Valley Healthcare on Daniel Shays Highway in Athol has reported a total of 25 COVID-19-related deaths to date.
Baystate Health currently reports 90 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 and 10 of those people were in the critical care unit at the end of the week. There were two confirmed cases at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. Baystate does not report from which of its hospitals the people in critical care come.
Reach Recorder reporter Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.