While COVID-19 case numbers have risen steadily throughout Franklin County, they might not tell the whole story for at least another week or two.
Greenfield Interim Health Director Jennifer Hoffman said, for instance, the numbers being reported by the state Department of Public Health tend to lag, so while Greenfield knows the COVID-19 case numbers it is seeing now are double what they were in April 2020 when they peaked, that isn’t yet fully reflected in state numbers.
“We’re a couple of weeks out from Christmas and six days out from New Year’s,” she said Thursday. “We’re seeing the numbers rise.”
Hoffman and Board of Health members said they will watch the numbers closely over the next couple of weeks, when those who gathered in large groups over the holidays could start testing positive.
According to this week’s state numbers, as of Thursday, Greenfield had reported 54 new positive cases over the two weeks prior. It can take 10 to 14 days for someone who has been exposed to start showing symptoms, though some people are asymptomatic. That means some people might not test positive for another week or so.
Because of its numbers, Greenfield remains in the “yellow” or higher-risk category.
This week, the Department of Public Health reported three Franklin County and North Quabbin towns are in the “red” or highest-risk category: Athol, in Worcester County, with 82 positive cases over the past two weeks; Montague with 28 case; and Orange with 35.
Deerfield, Sunderland and Whately are in the “green” or lower-risk category with 12, 11 and 15 positive cases reported, respectively, over the past two weeks. In Worcester County, Royalston is also in the “green” category, with 15 cases in that period.
Nineteen Franklin County towns, as well as Phillipston and Petersham in Worcester County, are currently in the “gray,” lowest-risk category, with five reporting no positive cases as of Thursday: Buckland, Hawley, Heath, Leyden, New Salem and Rowe. The rest report five or fewer cases. The state determines categories by population.
Baystate Health reports that it is currently caring for seven COVID-19 patients at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. It has a total of 136 hospitalized patients throughout its entire system, with 14 in its critical care unit in Springfield.
The state plans to open its Stop the Spread site at Greenfield Community College at 1 College Drive on Monday, according to information on the mass.gov website. Asymptomatic people will be able to be tested for free and without a referral from a medical professional.
Testing is by appointment only and is not restricted to residents of Greenfield. Testing will be pedestrian only, not from vehicles.
The state has not yet released details, including hours of operation and how to register to be tested. For more information or to check for those details, visit bit.ly/3oqNQ3a.
People can also be tested at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Valley Medical Group and the Community Health Center of Franklin County, which conducts testing in Greenfield on Tuesdays and in Orange on Fridays.
Vaccines have been arriving in Franklin County, with frontline workers at the hospital and medical centers receiving their first dose, as well as nursing home residents and staff members getting their first dose last week.
This week, correction officers at the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction in Greenfield began receiving the vaccine.
Second doses will be given in February to all those who got their first dose in January.
According to Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) Director of Community Services Phoebe Walker, first responders throughout the county will have the opportunity to be vaccinated in Greenfield at the John Zon Community Center on Pleasant Street starting Jan. 15. A registration link will be sent to first responders.
The dates and times are: Friday, Jan. 15, at 5 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 16, at 2 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m.; and Friday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m.
The clinics will be held indoors. Each chief or director must send a department roster to Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan at robert.strahan@greenfield-ma.gov indicating which members do and do not want to be vaccinated. Each individual must register.
The other two options for first responders to obtain a vaccine are for them to go to the Community Health Center of Franklin County or the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Based on their individual dashboards on their websites, it appears COVID-19 numbers held steady over the past week in nursing homes throughout the county. Poet’s Seat Health Care Center and Buckley HealthCare Center, both in Greenfield, continued to report no new cases.
Quabbin Valley Healthcare Center in Athol, which reported 15 deaths over the past couple of weeks, is currently reporting 14 COVID-19-positive cases among its residents and one positive staff member, but there haven’t been any COVID-19-related deaths in about a week. Forty-five staff members and 29 residents have recovered from COVID-19 there.
Charlene Manor Extended Care in Greenfield reports there are currently no residents with COVID-19, but two staff members have tested positive over the past week or so. Farren Care Center in Montague has not reported any new cases over the past week, according to the Department of Public Health’s website.
For state numbers, visit bit.ly/3hX9A4n.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.