Bristol County reported 844 additional COVID cases this week – Taunton Daily Gazette

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| The Taunton Daily Gazette

Massachusetts reported 11,075 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, down 3.9% from the previous week. The previous week had 11,525 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Massachusetts ranked 45th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 7.4% from the week before, with 906,593 cases reported. With 2.07% of the country's population, Massachusetts had 1.22% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 28 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Bristol County reported 844 cases and five deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 702 cases and five deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 164,400 cases and 2,224 deaths.

Across Massachusetts, cases fell in eight counties, with the best declines in Middlesex County, with 2,325 cases from 2,505 a week earlier; in Suffolk County, with 1,219 cases from 1,322; and in Hampshire County, with 223 cases from 265.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Within Massachusetts, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Hampden County with 193 cases per 100,000 per week; Berkshire County with 187; and Barnstable County with 165. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Middlesex County, with 2,325 cases; Essex County, with 1,251 cases; and Suffolk County, with 1,219. Weekly case counts rose in four counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Bristol, Essex and Berkshire counties.

In Massachusetts, 49 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 59 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,966,919 people in Massachusetts have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 21,176 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 91,316,648 people have tested positive and 1,029,926 people have died.

Note: For Massachusetts, Johns Hopkins University reports data in a combined health department for Dukes and Nantucket counties. Those two counties may appear without any cases, and this will skew rankings of counties.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, July 31. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Hospitals in 24 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 21 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

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Bristol County reported 844 additional COVID cases this week - Taunton Daily Gazette