When Will Mass. Start To See The Infection Curve Go Down?

More than 4,000 people have now died from COVID-19 in Massachusetts, which means the commonwealth has the fourth highest official death toll related to the coronavirus in the country.

And the rate of newly confirmed cases and deaths remains steady in the state.

So, when will we start to see the backend of this so-called infection curve?

For perspective on this, WBUR’s Morning Edition turned to Dr. David Hamer, a professor of global health and medicine at Boston University, and an infectious disease specialist at Boston Medical Center.

Interview Highlights

On when the current plateau in COVID-19-related deaths will start to decline

Hamer: “I actually think that we’re at the end of the plateau and there’s a gradual decline in new infections – at least hospitalizations for new infections. This is based on data … from around the Boston area. Boston Medical Center, for example, has started to see a gradual drop-off. So I think the plateau was really last week and that we should see a progressive decline over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I think it may be a more gradual decline than some of the initial graphs had estimated, which suggested a very rapid fall.”

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