For Immediate Release: 5/14/2021 3:14 pm
Worcester – The City of Worcester has released the following COVID-19 update for May 14:
There are 23,579 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the City of Worcester. This is an increase of 107 cases from Friday, May 7. This represents 63 fewer new cases than last week, when there were 170.
Positive case counts in surrounding towns: Shrewsbury: 2,954 (increase of 12 from last Friday); Holden: 1,460 (increase of 12 from last Friday); Grafton: 1,181 (increase of 9 from last Friday)
All combined medical facilities of Saint Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Health Care had 35 (decrease of 17 from last week) total COVID-positive in-patients and 15 (decrease of 1 from Tuesday) total COVID-positive ICU patients. To date, their facilities have had 728 (increase of 5 from Tuesday) total COVID-related deaths.
To date, there have been 424 deaths of Worcester residents from COVID-19 (increase of 2 from last week)
According to the state Department of Public Health, a combined total of 156,673 doses (increase of 13,299 from last week) have been administered for Worcester. A total of 64,382 (roughly 35 percent of the population) have received their second dose and are fully vaccinated. A total of 92,291 (about 50 percent) have received their first dose.
A total of 13,498 vaccination doses have been administered through the City’s Mobile Vaccination Clinics to 9,109 individuals. Of those vaccinations, 6,281 first doses, 4,389 second doses, and 2,828 single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been administered.
As of Thursday, May 13, 78,111 doses had been administered through the Regional Vaccination site at Worcester State University.
With the approval of the Centers for Disease Control this week, Pfizer vaccines were made available to children ages 12-15, with parental consent. Vaccinations had previously been available to all those 16 and older.
Partnering with the Boys & Girls Club for a previously-scheduled clinic Wednesday, May 12, the Department of Health & Human Services administered 68 doses to children in the 12-15 age range on the same day, or 39 percent of 174 total doses administered at the clinic.
HHS staff and volunteers will also begin administering vaccinations in Worcester schools next week, bringing their Equity Clinics into high schools, and visiting middle schools the following week.
Mobile Equity Clinics scheduled for next week:
(Please note that high school clinics are open only to students at those schools. The middle school students are for students 12-plus, with their families.)
Do you qualify for Equity Clinics? You must meet one of the following criteria
Find more information about the COVID-19 virus, and the City’s vaccination efforts, including the latest Mobile Vaccination Clinics, and more by visiting www.worcesterma.gov/coronavirus/vaccination.
Outreach efforts to encourage residents to get vaccinated, funded through the state Department of Public Health, continue in Worcester with the help of community partners. Those efforts involve canvassing through door-knocking and phone banking as well as the distribution of informational flyers in multiple languages, masks, sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. Community partners have included the Southeast Asian Coalition, Worcester Interfaith and Latino Education Institute. This week, teams knocked on more than 1,500 doors and made more than 800 phone calls.
The vaccination site at Mercantile Center, which is run by UMass Memorial Health Care, is now accepting walk-ins, ages 12-up. No appointment is necessary from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The site, which opened in February and has administered more than 26,000 shots, is also still accepting appointments, from 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Appointments can be made at www.mass.gov. Discounted parking is available in the Mercantile Center Garage.
The City’s Division of Parks & Recreation announces the reopening of Green Hill Farm at Green Hill Park on Tuesday, May 18. The farm, which has been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, will be open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The farm is closed on Mondays. All walkways will be one-way, with signs advising all visitors. A reminder that for the welfare, health, diet and safety of all the animals at the farm, they cannot be fed. All current COVID-19 protocols must be followed, including wearing face coverings or masks when social distance cannot be maintained.
A total of 504 calls were made to seniors this week. The calls are a combination of wellness checks, assisting with vaccination appointments, and helping with other issues, such as accessing food, benefits and housing. Elder Services of Worcester Area delivered 5,485 meals to seniors.
The Baker-Polito Administration this week announced the state’s Employer Vaccination Program, which offers Massachusetts employers two main options to easily and conveniently vaccinate their employees. The options include group appointments at Mass Vaccination Sites, with appointments scheduled starting Monday, May 17, and Mobile On-Site Employer Vaccination Clinics. Details for both programs, including a link to a form for employers to request appointments at MVS, can be found at www.mass.gov/covidvaccine.
Stop the Spread testing has been extended through Sept. 30. To date, the program has provided 2.4 million tests to Massachusetts residents. People are encouraged to continue getting tested as a way to prevent the spread of the virus.
For the week of May 17, free walk-in COVID-19 testing offered by UMass Memorial Health Care will be available Monday, May 17, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Thursday, May 20, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Mercantile Center, 201 Commercial St., Worcester (intersection of Commercial and Mechanic streets). For more locations around the state, visit www.mass.gov./info-details/stop-the-spread.
A reminder that the Massachusetts Homebound Vaccination Program is available for homebound individuals who are unable to leave their home to get to a vaccination site, even with assistance. These individuals require either ambulance or two-person assistance leaving the home, are not able to leave the home for medical appointments under normal circumstances, or have considerable difficulty and/or require significant support to leave the home for medical appointments. For a screening and to be connected to resources to schedule a homebound vaccination, call the Homebound Vaccination Program Central Intake Line at 1-833-983-0485, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information about homebound vaccinations, visit www.worcesterma.gov/coronavirus/vaccination.
