Quincy COVID-19 Cases Continue to Soar Per State’s Weekly Update Report

 — News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

COVID-19 infections continue to soar
Image via AP

Quincy COVID-19 infections soar to a new record high yet again this week per the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s weekly COVID-19 report.

Infections per 100,000 in Quincy rose by 17% from last week’s previous record high.

And as for the local positive testing rate, while it dropped by 7% from last week’s record rate, do note that positive testing rates are greatly influenced by the number of tests administered. 

In short, the test positive rate can be readily torqued by an outsized increase in the number of worried well opting to undergo testing whereas the number of infections per 100,000 rate is the more telling metric as it is based on the tabulating of actual cases.

The interpolations
Image via Amzon.com

Plus, a 17% increase in cases is a larger change than the but modest 7% decrease in the positive testing rate, especially as the total number of tests administered is not listed and the Quincy Quarry quant desk is not interested in running the interpolations needed to discern the obvious considerable increase in the number of tests undertaken by Quincy residents in recent days.

That and how the reporter for this story is not interested in then endeavoring to explain how the interpolations were calculated, much less sees a need to further explain how a modest decline in the testing positive rate is all but assuredly not a big deal in the face of a 17% increase in actual infections.

And in the meanwhile, do note that next week’s report will likely be impacted by the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday and as the Christmas and New Year’s Day Friday holidays surely did previously. 

In other words, do not be surprised if there are negative surprises once we move past the above three holidays but before we reach the Presidents’ Day holiday.

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