It seems as though Winthrop is not immune to the rising number of COVID cases that have affected neighboring cities and towns and some are reassessing that bit of freedom we all enjoyed over the summer months.
According to the Director of the Winthrop Department of Public Health & Clinical Services
Meredith Hurley, RN, MPH, the weekly positive test rate jumped 82 percent when comparing the week ending January 1 with the week ending December 25.
For the week ending January 1 3,386 Winthrop residents were tested for COVID and 15.8 percent were found to be positive. This was an 82 percent spike from the 8.7 percent that tested positive the week prior.
Six percent more residents were tested for the virus during the week ending January 1 so it seems the Omnicron variant, which makes up nearly all new cases in the US, is spreading rapidly through the town.
The number of confirmed cases jumped from 280 to 535 from Christmas to the New Year.
The rise in cases has also forced some to start rolling back planned events.
For example Betsy Shane, Executive Director Winthrop Chamber of Commerce, announced due to climbing COVID numbers the Chamber’s annual installation swearing in of the board planned for Wednesday morning had been moved to a remote ceremony.
“We are postponing the dinner for January and will have it when our numbers come down,†she explained in an email. “I spoke with Meredith (Hurley) last week and our rate went up from 8.7% to over 15% so it’s better to be safe right now.â€