Massachusetts Reports New COVID-19 Case Record; Possible Thanksgiving Surge

The state of Massachusetts reported a new single-day record for confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, which experts reportedly believe may be the beginning of a post-Thanksgiving surge.

The Massachusetts Health Department announced 4,613 new cases, which is a 62% jump from Tuesday's total of 2,845 cases, the Boston Herald reports.

“We could be seeing a post-Thanksgiving bump in cases,” said Boston University infectious diseases specialist Davidson Hamer via the Boston Herald. “It could also be that a lot more people are getting tested after Thanksgiving.”

Massachusetts' previous highest one-day total was 3,079 in April, which was one month into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the height of the spring surge nationwide.

“The trajectory is really increasing exponentially, and it’s going to skyrocket,” said Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health via the Boston Herald. “The holidays back-to-back are national superspreading events, which is going to put us in very rough shape.

“We’re going to see an explosion of cases, which is already baked in after Thanksgiving. There will be a significant surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, and there’s nothing we can do to stop that. But the behaviors we change now can affect life after Christmas.”

State health officials also reported 46 new deaths in relation to COVID-19, adding to a total of 10,824. Massachusetts' three-day average of coronavirus daily deaths has dropped to 28 after peaking at 161 in May.

The department also reports 45,390 active cases among the state's 234,232 total cases.

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