COVID-19 positivity in the Keene community is on the rise.
Cheshire Medical Center reported a 32.6% positivity rate for the community for the week ending in January 20. This is an all-time high for the pandemic.
Cheshire Medical Communications Manager Heather Atwell wrote in a report issued to The Equinox that from January 14 to January 20 the hospital had a total of 152 active COVID patients, averaging at about 21 patients per day. That week, Cheshire Medical admitted 17 new patients. Six of those patients were vaccinated, six were unvaccinated and five had an unknown vaccination status.
“The very high percent positivity in our community and the number of COVID-19 positive inpatients has put a strain on Cheshire Medical Center,” Atwell said. “We’ve had to convert other units to be able to treat ICU-level patients. We’ve also had to reassign staff members from other areas of the hospital to cover shifts due to this increase in COVID-19 inpatients.”
As of January 28, Keene State College reported 76 positive COVID-19 cases and an approximate 2.4% positivity rate, according to COVID-19 Project Manager Colin Burdick. That number is up from the 1.27% positivity rate reported for the week ending on January 23. 67 of the new 76 cases are students. Burdick said he’s worried the high positivity rate in the surrounding area could bleed into the college community.
“We were originally worried about the college spreading into the community, but it seems the other way around,” Burdick said.
“The community around us has had stratospheric case counts,” Keene State President Melinda Treadwell said. “That level of positivity is concerning.”
Treadwell urged students and campus community members to be cautious and wear a mask when not on campus. “We can’t relax; we should not be going into bars without masks or gathering in large groups.”
President Treadwell added further that with higher case numbers on campus and in the surrounding community, she’s less concerned about the number of people who test positive and more about the severity of the virus in those who are unvaccinated. President Treadwell also reported that no students or faculty have been hospitalized as a result of infection, to her knowledge.
Prior to winter break, the college community surpassed their goal of getting 75% of the population vaccinated. That number now sits at around 78%. Treadwell said the college will likely hold a celebration in honor of that achievement in the spring, when the weather is warmer.
“We want to celebrate the incentive of being able to be a community in a way more significant than anything we’ve done the past two years,” Treadwell said.
Burdick said he wouldn’t be surprised if the college saw another increase in cases in the coming weeks, though he expects the numbers will soon plateau.
COVID Team Testing Coordinator Nicole Feml said the college’s testing compliance for the week ending on January 28 was 92%. Out of a total of 8,000 tests, Feml said 1.45% came back symptomatic.
“Anecdotally, I can say we are seeing more individuals with mild symptoms. It is important that individuals continue to use our daily symptomatic testing at 115 Winchester Street,” Feml said.
The college is currently transitioning its quarantine protocols to align with those of the CDC’s definition of fully vaccinated, which includes a booster shot if people are eligible, Feml said.
