Data last updated on March 25, 2020 03:14 pm
When we hear that Framingham has 21 confirmed cases of Covid-19, it’s hard to make much sense of that without being able to compare that number with the situation elsewhere.
One way to do this is to look at the rate of cases per 100,000 population and then compare that to rates elsewhere – always keeping in mind that with U.S. testing so inadequate, the real number of people infected by the virus is actually unknown (and likely much higher). And, if testing per population varies by region, even within the same state or county, higher concentrations of known cases may not reflect actual rates of infection.
Plus, testing in Massachusetts has ramped up in the past few days, so some of the spike in known cases is simply discovering cases that have been around for awhile and not a jump in very recent infections.
With all that in mind . . .
Massachusetts Known COVID-19 Cases Per 100K
At 21 known cases, Framingham has about 28.7 per 100,000 people. In comparison, all of Middlesex County has about 18.8, making Framingham somewhat higher than the rate of known cases throughout the county. However, another caveat: As a small percent of the overall county, Framingham’s rate per capita may vary more than in larger regions.
Massachusetts as a whole is lower than both Framingham and Middlesex County, at 15.6 per 100K and 1,159 overall.
Framingham’s rate is still lower than either Suffolk or Berkshire Counties.
Here’s a map of cases per 100,000 people by county in Massachusetts:
You can see a lot more information about state Coronavirus trends in my interactive Massachusetts COVID-19 Web app.
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