SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday said health officials are concerned about another surge in new coronavirus cases following Christmas and New Year’s as hospitalizations start to tick up.
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“We’ve talked on a number of occasions about our concerns associated with the holidays. Thanksgiving certainly turned out to be a pretty significant hit to our health care system and to our Commonwealth,” Baker said during a news conference at BayState Health in Springfield.
Baker noted health officials “certainly believe” that the recent increase in hospitalizations is linked to gatherings and parties during Christmas.
“There’s been a tick up in hospitalizations after the beginning of that particular week and we’re obviously going to be paying a lot of attention to that data of the next few weeks,” Baker explained.
As of Monday, there were more than 2,300 COVID-19 patients hospitalized across the state and a total of 423 people were being treated in the ICU, public health data indicated.
Since Thanksgiving, the average age of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has jumped from 61 to 73, according to Baker.
Baker urged all residents to continue to take precautions, wear masks, and avoid informal gatherings because health care workers blamed the uptick in hospitalizations after Thanksgiving on the “intergenerational transfer” of coronavirus.
“While the arrival of vaccines and the rollout process is a critical part of sort of turning the corner on COVID, I can’t state how critical it is for everybody to maintain their diligence and their vigilance as we move through this particular part of the process,” Baker said.
About 287,000 doses of the vaccine have been distributed to health care providers in Massachusetts and about 116,000 have been administered, according to Baker.
Frontline health care workers and long-term care facility residents have already started to get vaccinations. First responders will start getting vaccinated next week.
When asked about the new variant of the virus was detected in nearby New York, Baker stated there is no evidence of it being in the Bay State but said “most of us are working on the assumption that it’s here.”
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