SOUTHWICK- The Town of Southwick has reported a record number of new weekly confirmed COVID-19 infections with 34 cases reported between Jan. 8 and Jan. 15.
Southwick has now reported a pandemic total of 343 confirmed cases. No deaths due to COVID-19 were reported last week. Five people in Southwick have died due to COVID-19 since March.
In the weekly public health report last week it was announced that Town Hall is currently closed to the public while town staff address issues involving COVID-19.
“Town Hall services continue to be available by phone, online, and by appointment. All efforts have been made to ensure that customers and staff are kept safe,” said the report.
Nationally the level of coronavirus infection remains at record highs. On Jan. 8, the United States reported just over 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections, the largest single-day jump since the beginning of the pandemic. On Jan. 12, there was a record number of COVID-19 single-day deaths in the country with more than 4,400.
The State of Massachusetts also experienced single-day records in the past week. On Jan. 8 the state reported more than 8,000 new confirmed cases, the most in a single day in the state.
On Friday, Jan. 15, the Centers for Disease Control reported that, by their projections, the COVID-19 variant first discovered in the United Kingdom in September will become the dominant strain in the United States by March.
The B.1.1.7 variant is considered to be up to 70 percent more infectious than the original variant of the virus. It is not believed to be any more deadly than the other existing variants.
