The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) continues to collect data from county towns as it tracks the spread of COVID-19 and, for the most part, it seems numbers are staying steady or decreasing.
Greenfield reported that positive cases rose by 11 from 175 cumulative cases last week to 186 this week. Fifty-nine people are currently quarantined, while 136 have recovered since the beginning of the pandemic. There have now been 42 deaths, up by two from last week.
Seventeen towns in Franklin County continue to report five or fewer cases and no deaths, except Gill, which has reported one death in that category. The rest of the towns are reporting more than five cases, with Greenfield reporting the most and Orange and Montague following with 34 and 23 cases respectively; both rose slightly from last week. Montague reports that six people are currently quarantined. In Orange, 14 are quarantined and 26 have recovered.
FRCOG releases updated numbers on its website, frcog.org, every Thursday by 4 p.m. FRCOG Director of Community Services Phoebe Walker has explained previously that the agency reports a range for five or fewer cases in a town, while exact numbers are reported for any number of cases greater than five. She said the capacity to track numbers varies significantly from town to town.
Buckland and Shelburne have both reported one death since the beginning of the pandemic, and cumulative positive cases in those towns have not increased since last week.
The state Department of Public Health (DPH) also releases town-by-town information each week on Wednesday. DPH’s latest statistics show Athol has had 46 positive COVID-19 cases (up by five from last week), Petersham has five, Phillipston has 12 and Royalston has fewer than five. However, the state does not provide information on recoveries and deaths in individual towns. These four towns are not covered by FRCOG.
On FRCOG’s website, there is also COVID-19-related information about virtual meetings, city and town updates, and updates from the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin region and sheriff, along with others. More information, including an interactive map, can be found at bit.ly/2X0IYFn.
The state is also reporting numbers from hospitals, but Baystate Health is also reporting its numbers daily. By midweek, Baystate Franklin Medical Center had no confirmed positive cases, and three people were under investigation for having the virus. Those numbers have not changed since the hospital reported last week.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.