SALEM, MA — Rising coronavirus cases in Salem, and across the North Shore and the state, have officials worried that younger residents contracting the virus in recent weeks — the majority of whom do not develop severe symptoms — will soon begin transmitting the virus to older, more vulnerable relatives during the holiday season.
In a virtual town hall meeting with local municipal leaders and health officials Thursday night, North Shore Medical Center President and cardiologist Dr. David Roberts said that while hospitalizations are way down compared to the spring, despite the recent steady rise in rates, if younger people infect their older relatives during the holidays “these hospital rates will take off like a shot.”
“Young people are the carriers of COVID in our community,” said Roberts, classifying “young people” as those under 40. “They are the ones who are going around without masks, and partying and drinking.
“You are the Typhoid Mary of our community, so you should be super careful.”
Salem’s cases per 100,000 — a metric that up until last week the state used solely to determine whether a city or town is considered at “high risk” for community spread — rose to 25.9 in this week’s state data after being 7.1 just two weeks ago. Until the state changed the metrics last week, in an effort to avoid automatic triggers to switch to remote learning in schools, a community with a rate higher than 8.0 was considered “high risk.”Subscribe
Peabody and Lynn were also above 21.0 cases this week, with Roberts saying those communities are the ones the North Shore Medical Center watches most closely, in addition to Salem, because those three cities use the hospital the most.
Roberts said at the spring peak the North Shore Medical Center had the most patients with coronavirus in the entire state with 900 patients and a mortality rate of nearly 25 percent. He said the hospital currently has 24 coronavirus patients with four in intensive care.
“The mortality from COVID now is much better than it was in the spring,” he said. “We have learned how to manage it better. The patients coming into the hospital are not as sick as they were in the spring.
“It was rough. But we’ve learned a lot and we’ve had most of summer to fill our tanks and get ready for the next wave.”
Salem Health Agent David Greenbaum said the city has not tied many cases to October tourism for Halloween — which Salem repeatedly discouraged — and that the majority of cases have been traced back to transmission within households and families and friends that get together without safety precautions.
He said some cases were traced back to restaurants, businesses and Salem State University, and that gyms and schools do not appear to be a significant source of virus spread at this time. He added that cases are particularly prevalent in the city’s Hispanic population.
Salem is asking all residents to be tested at least twice a month through December to maintain a good idea of virus spread in the community and make residents aware of whether they could be spreading the virus. Officials said they are working on ways to shorten wait times for drive-thru testing at Salem High School and walk-up tests at Old Town Hall, while noting wait times have been significantly shorter at the new rapid drive-thru test site at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.
Roberts said 70 percent of virus transmission is occurring within residential homes and that the mortality of someone over 80 years old who contracts the virus is about 30 percent.
“We are mirroring back what we were seeing in the spring,” Mayor Kim Driscoll said of the recent rise in rates. “It may seem like a small number but it could have an impact if you are in the cohort of individuals who get sick, or worse.”
Roberts, while noting the very promising possibilities of a vaccine being widely available within the next four to six months, said that’s something to keep in mind when planning for Thanksgiving over the next two weeks.
“I am the Grinch,” he said of his holiday advice in 2020. “The greatest gift you can give to an at-risk relative is celebrating the holidays remotely.
“My advice to everybody is to wear a mask at all times and socialize outdoors.”
