Is the COVID swell cresting — or not?

Also: Cambridge expands guaranteed income program; Mass. takes a step toward legal sports betting [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  April 29, 2022 ⛅ Cloudy with a high near 53. Good Morning Boston, TGIF! Start your weekend with Boston poet laureate Porsha Olayiwola and other fellow rising lyricists [tonight at WBUR CitySpace]( But first, the news you need to get through your Friday: - Call it a "[swell]( a "[blip]( or a "[bump]( but COVID numbers in Massachusetts keep rising, despite wastewater data that has been suggesting the uptick driven by the BA.2 omicron subvariant was on the verge of a turnaround. - Health officials reported over 3,000 new cases Thursday and the statewide positivity rate ticked above 5% for the first time since early February. Those rising figures come as Boston-area wastewater data had been [trending downward for a week]( though it did [tick up again on Thursday](. - Hospitalizations are also slowly rising, though they remain relatively low. Officials say nearly 70% of COVID patients were admitted for other reasons. The state's COVID death rate has also hovered just below five a day for over a month. - It's too soon to declare a trend. But as Boston University epidemiology professor Matthew Fox [told the Boston Herald]( we haven't yet seen the wastewater data trend down like this right before a big surge. Fox said he's "cautiously optimistic" the BA.2 wave has peaked. - Zoom out: Dr. Anthony Fauci [said this week]( that he believes the U.S. is out of the phase of the pandemic where there are big surges in infections and hospitalizations. [According to the CDC,]( 60% of the country has antibodies from getting infected by some strain of COVID, and Fauci is "virtually certain" that figure is an undercount. Around 53% of Massachusetts — which stood out for its [high vaccination rate]( — previously had a COVID infection, according to the CDC (check out [their full 50-state map here](. - That all said, there are many reasons people may want to remain cautious. To wit, Fauci himself [backed out of the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday due to COVID concerns,]( citing his "assessment of my personal risk." - News you can use: WBUR's Gabrielle Emanuel explains [how to make sure you're properly wearing a mask]( particularly when others aren't. She also [covered the subject]( in this week's always-informative edition of our CommonHealth newsletter (I'm biased, but I highly recommend [subscribing](. - Relevant reading: [what to know about rapid tests and BA.2](. - Cambridge will give those earning less than twice the [poverty line]( direct payments of $500 a month for a year and a half in an effort to help those hurt most by the pandemic. For example, the initiative would make eligible single adults earning less than $25,000 a year, as well as a family of four that earns less than $53,000 annually. - Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui announced in her State of the City address Wednesday that Cambridge will use $22 million in federal pandemic relief funds to support the initiative. - The move is an expansion [a guaranteed income pilot program]( the city launched last summer focusing on 120 single caretaker households. - Did Massachusetts just get closer to legalizing sports betting? At least on paper, the answer is yes. The state's Senate — which had [long held out on sports gambling legalization, despite support from the House and Gov. Charlie Baker]( — passed a bill last night that would allow people 21 and over to bet on professional sports in casinos or on mobile apps. - However, there are still some big debates that need to be worked out. First, the Senate's bill would not legalize betting on any college sports, which House Speaker Ron Mariano has called a potential deal breaker. The Senate's bill also wouldn't allow people to use credit cards so people don't rack up huge debts (you'd have to use a debit card for digital payments). Unlike the House's version, the Senate's bill includes higher tax rates and a ban on sports betting ads during events. - The MBTA's [big bus network redesign]( is coming. T General Manager Steve Poftak said Thursday that the agency will unveil its proposed redesign map on May 16. It apparently includes "a lot of interesting new routes" to adjust to shifting population and job centers. - According to the MBTA, the overhaul will increase overall bus service by 25%, including a 70% increase in weekend service. - When will the new routes be implemented? T spokeswoman Lisa Battiston says the changes will be phased in over five years beginning next spring (first, there'll be a series of public meetings to get feedback on the proposal [beginning May 19](. P.S.— We hear songs of birds returning north this time of year. But what bird is around all winter long, and happens to be the state bird of Massachusetts? Take [our Boston News Quiz]( and test your knowledge of the latest local stories. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [The education culture war is raging. But for most parents, it's background noise]( By wide margins, parents across the political spectrum are satisfied with how their children's schools teach about race, gender and history. That's according to a new national poll by NPR and Ipsos. [Read more.]( [The education culture war is raging. But for most parents, it's background noise]( By wide margins, parents across the political spectrum are satisfied with how their children's schools teach about race, gender and history. That's according to a new national poll by NPR and Ipsos. [Read more.]( [Harvard report brings joy, grief for descendants of enslaved]( Hundreds of years later, the descendants of people who were enslaved by Harvard after its founding are estimated to number in the tens of thousands, including some who lived in the Boston area without knowing their family connection to the school. [Read more.]( [Harvard report brings joy, grief for descendants of enslaved]( Hundreds of years later, the descendants of people who were enslaved by Harvard after its founding are estimated to number in the tens of thousands, including some who lived in the Boston area without knowing their family connection to the school. [Read more.]( [It's hard to avoid plastic while grocery shopping — even for a week]( As part of WBUR’s new newsletter “Cooked,” reporter Martha Bebinger had to purchase a week's worth of food and leave the grocery store without any plastic in her bag. [Read more.]( [It's hard to avoid plastic while grocery shopping — even for a week]( As part of WBUR’s new newsletter “Cooked,” reporter Martha Bebinger had to purchase a week's worth of food and leave the grocery store without any plastic in her bag. [Read more.]( [The FDA is proposing a ban on menthol cigarettes]( The agency says the proposal has the potential to significantly decrease disease and death from tobacco by "reducing youth experimentation and addiction." [Read more.]( [The FDA is proposing a ban on menthol cigarettes]( The agency says the proposal has the potential to significantly decrease disease and death from tobacco by "reducing youth experimentation and addiction." [Read more.]( [Biden asks Congress for $33 billion in aid for Ukraine as war drags on]( The amount is more than double the $14 billion in support authorized so far to respond to the Russian invasion, a senior administration officials told reporters Thursday. [Read more.]( [Biden asks Congress for $33 billion in aid for Ukraine as war drags on]( The amount is more than double the $14 billion in support authorized so far to respond to the Russian invasion, a senior administration officials told reporters Thursday. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Public radio legend Bob Oakes [writes an appreciation of jazz legend Harry Carney]( who played with Duke Ellington and whose story bookends in Boston. - A documentary eight years in the making, "Girl Talk" challenges the perception of girls’ voices in Massachusetts high school debate teams, [writes film writer Erin Trahan](. - This week, the Endless Thread team [spoke to the man behind the viral Reddit post]( that tricked many into thinking he had a massive problem: an impending delivery of fifty tons of eggs. - WBUR's Sharon Brody [writes in this commentary]( about how it feels when your favorite bookstore is the one that bites the dust. What We're Reading 📚 - Inside Zelensky's World ([Time]( - ‘Jumping worms’ are spreading around New England. And that has ecologists worried. ([The Boston Globe]( - We Created the Pandemicene ([The Atlantic]( Food for Thought ['There is a price, and not just a dollar amount': A North Shore beef farmer on meat and climate change]( Aaron Knight, former livestock manager at Appleton Farms, talks about cows, climate change and sustainable farming. [Read more.]( ['There is a price, and not just a dollar amount': A North Shore beef farmer on meat and climate change]( Aaron Knight, former livestock manager at Appleton Farms, talks about cows, climate change and sustainable farming. [Read more.]( Before you go: [Nature's graffiti](. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. 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