Boston officials see improvement in COVID-19 numbers, but urge continued vigilance
Boston health officials said Friday they have seen encouraging trends in recent weeks in COVID-19 metrics, but they urged people to keep taking steps to protect themselves and those around them.
The Boston Public Health Commission said that the weekly total of COVID-19-related hospital admissions was 148 as of Tuesday, down 14.7 percent from the week before. Levels of virus detected in local wastewater were also down, and case numbers had “stabilized,” officials said.
Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the public health commissioner, said the numbers were a welcome development, “but we must remain vigilant, especially with the highly transmissible BA.5 variant making up a majority of cases in the region.”
“Overall, Boston’s metrics are at a medium risk level,” Ojikutu said in a statement from the commission. “The risk of transmission is still significant, and we all need to continue to take proper precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.”
The commission’s statement emphasized the importance of getting a booster shot as the Omicron subvariant BA.5 circulates.
The commission said it continued to recommend “proper COVID-19 safety and mitigation practices.”
The commission recommends:
- Getting vaccinated and boosted;
- Wearing masks indoors, especially in crowded settings like public transportation;
- Testing for COVID-19 before and after attending large gatherings, especially if you will be around vulnerable or unvaccinated people;
- Staying home if you are sick or test positive for COVID-19;
- Contacting a health care provider about treatment if you test positive;
- Gathering with people outside rather than inside; and
- If inside, opening windows and doors to dissipate the airborne virus.
Martin Finucane can be reached at [email protected].
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