Residents should get vaccinated and boosted, mask indoors to reduce risk
BOSTON—September 29, 2022—The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) is urging residents to take proper precautions against COVID-19 amid a significant spike in COVID-19 virus particles in local wastewater that suggests higher levels of community spread. Boston has not experienced levels this high since May.
The concentration of COVID-19 RNA copies in local wastewater rose to 1,016 copies per mL over the past week, a 104.5% increase over the past 7 days. Boston’s COVID-19 metrics have risen steadily over the past few weeks as people began to spend more time indoors and students, including college students, returned to school. Boston will likely see similarly elevated rates of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the coming weeks, data which often lags behind wastewater.
“This spike in our wastewater concentration is of great concern and another reminder that the pandemic is far from over,” said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Commissioner of Public Health and Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, “The key to protecting ourselves remains the same, and these tools are particularly important given this current trend: get vaccinated, get boosted, and wear masks indoors. By protecting ourselves now, we can reduce the risk of infection as we spend more time indoors in the fall and winter.”
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