COVID wastewater data rises

Boston’s COVID wastewater data has jumped following a recent plunge, while state health officials reported a continuing drop in virus cases and hospitalizations.

Data from the Boston Public Health Commission’s wastewater surveillance program shows that the number of COVID particles in the city’s wastewater rose 35% over a report two weeks ago.

The citywide wastewater average is now 1,367 viral RNA copies per milliliter, compared to 1,014 viral RNA copies in that previous report.

Seven out of the 11 neighborhoods again tested below the citywide average: Charlestown, East Boston, Back Bay, South Boston, Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, and Roslindale/West Roxbury. The neighborhoods above the average are Allston/ Brighton, Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.

More than 85% of the wastewater samples have been identified as the XBB variant, an omicron subvariant that has become the dominant strain across the region.

On Thursday, the state Department of Public Health reported 4,470 virus cases over the last week. The daily average of 639 COVID cases from the last week was down 3% from the daily rate of 656 virus infections during the previous week.

The Bay State’s positive test average decreased again last week. The seven-day positive test rate is now 6.96%, down from 7.65% last week.

The state Department of Public Health on Thursday also reported that 633 total patients are hospitalized with COVID, which is a drop of 58 patients from this time last week.

The state reported 102 new COVID deaths over the past week, bringing the state’s total to 24,029 recorded deaths since the start of the pandemic. The daily average of deaths is now 12, which had been up in recent weeks.