SOUTHWICK- The Town of Southwick reported 23 new confirmed COVID-19 cases this week as the local spread of the virus lowered from the previous week but remained elevated.
The pandemic total for the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Southwick now stands at 238. The Health Department also reported one death due to COVID-19, bringing the pandemic total for deaths in Southwick to five.
The report by the Southwick Health Department Friday comes days after Southwick was rolled back to Phase 3, step 1 of Gov. Charlie D. Baker’s reopening plan. Southwick has been considered a high-risk community for COVID-19 transmission for several weeks.
Though Southwick was individually rolled back to Step 1, Massachusetts as a whole was moved back as well this week as the daily number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state continues to top 5,000, which is far above the records set back in the Spring wave.
Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional Schools Superintendent Jennifer Willard alerted families Friday afternoon that some students could return to in-person learning starting Dec. 14.
“Prioritizing the safety and well-being of students and staff along with the importance of in-person learning, the safety committee recently met and reviewed the current metrics in our District in accordance with the MOA,” Willard wrote to families in an email. “Based on that lengthy discussion, I have concluded that all students in grades PreK-4, and students in Cohort C (5-days per week ) in grades 5 and 6 at Powder Mill School WILL return to in-person learning on Monday, December 14, 2020. Students remaining in a full-remote learning status through December 18, 2020 will include Cohorts A and B (2- days per week) in grades 5 and 6 and all students in grades 7-12.”
The City of Westfield reported 94 new confirmed cases this week and three additional deaths. Westfield Middle School switched to remote learning this past week and anticipates returning to the building and hybrid learning Tuesday.
The positivity rate for Massachusetts increased from the previous week. From Dec. 4 to Dec. 9, the positivity rate was 5.41% across the state. The daily rate of reported infections increased overall, with three days in that period where the number of new infections topped 5,000.
Nationally the infection rate has grown practically out of control. There has not been a single day since Dec. 3 in which fewer than 200,000 cases were reported nationally. On Dec. 4, the number of new national cases was reported to be above 235,000, the highest daily total since the beginning of the pandemic.
