For Immediate Release: 4/1/2021 4:26 pm
The City of Worcester has released the following COVID-19 update:
To date, there have been 22,011 overall confirmed positive cases in Worcester. That is an increase of 311 cases since the City’s last COVID update on Thursday, March 18.
There were 69 new cases today.
Positive case counts in surrounding towns: Shrewsbury: 2,772 (increase of 61); Holden: 1,370 (increase of 29); Grafton: 1,089 (increase of 22).
UMass Memorial Health Care and Saint Vincent Hospital have a combined total of 48 COVID-positive in-patients (decrease of 3) and 14 total COVID-positive ICU patients (decrease of 3). To date, the combined facilities have had 706 COVID-related deaths (increase of 2). A total of 1,747 employees have tested positive for the virus (increase of 1). All changes are from previous week’s report.
There have been 416 deaths of Worcester residents.
The City of Worcester saw the highest number of new COVID-19 cases this past week among those aged 20-29. There were a total of 4,234 new cases in that age group, or 19 percent of all new cases. Individuals under the age of 30 accounted for 7,612 cases, or 35 percent.
As of Wednesday, March 24, the City’s Division of Public Health reported that 46,114 total Worcester residents, or roughly 25 percent of the City’s population, had received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 25,868 residents, about 12 percent, have received their second dose and are fully vaccinated.
Of the roughly 25,187 seniors 65 years of age and older in Worcester, 17,467 (70 percent) have received at least their first dose; 11,258 (44 percent) have been fully vaccinated.
A total of 4,916 doses have been administered via Mobile Vaccinations as of Wednesday, March 31. Mobile Vaccinations today were scheduled at the Worcester Housing Authority’s Great Brook Valley residential complex and at Rock of Salvation Church.
The City has administered a total of 2,130 Equity Doses through the State’s Vaccine Equity Initiative, which targets the hardest-hit neighborhoods and most under-represented populations in 20 Massachusetts Cities and Towns.
There have been 34,105 doses administered at the Regional Vaccination Site offered at Worcester State University.
The City of Worcester is a recipient of a $338,378 grant from the State Department of Public Health for COVID-19 Vaccination Capacity and Confidence from federal grant funds made available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the total grant funding, $100,000 is allocated to support staffing and infrastructure needs for the Board of Health. The funds are going to communities most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
The City of Worcester License Commission on Thursday, April 1 voted to extend the City’s Temporary Outdoor Dining Program until Jan. 1 of next year. Licenses issued under that program, which we implemented last year, were scheduled to expire May 1. If the State of Emergency is lifted prior to that date, licenses will remain in effect for 60 days beyond that date. The program offers a streamlined approval process for restaurants to conduct outdoor dining, and allows for outdoor dining on a temporary basis on a larger scale than is permitted under normal conditions. For example, under this program, a restaurant may turn a portion of their parking lot into an outdoor dining area. The City had 96 establishments take part in the program, which has proven extremely popular and has served as a lifeline for many restaurants that have been impacted heavily by the pandemic. In addition to the temporary licenses extended today, the program remains available to new applicants.
The City has also announced the launch on Monday, April 5 of a new Outdoor Dining Grant Program, as the result of $50K in donations from the Worcester Business Development Corporation, Unity Bank and Fidelity Bank. The program will run for two weeks, from April 5 through April 16, and will provide up to $2,000 per business. These funds can be used for costs associated with outdoor dining, such as tables, chairs and barriers, to name a few. A grant application will be available on the City website, www.worcesterma.gov, starting Monday.
