WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester medical director Dr. Michael Hirsh said COVID-19 cases are rising, but he's cautiously optimistic heading into the fall.

Hirsh said levels of the virus in wastewater have seen a spike in recent weeks and the city's positive test rate is going up. He said it's less than 5%, but those numbers are starting to increase by the week.

While ICU numbers and deaths are still low in the city, Hirsh said there has been a bump in the number of hospitalizations.

When asked how concerned he is about the COVID-19 figures with school starting, Hirsh described it as a three out of five.

"What we're continuing to find is people that come to the hospital with other ailments, when we test them for COVID, about 30% of them will test positive for COVID without knowing,” he said. “So, some of this COVID spread is subclinical. People must have their own ability to overcome mild symptoms and things like that. But there are still some compromised folks that are going to be made sick by any new wave."

Hirsh recommends masking and other precautions for someone with a compromised immune system. He said his concern as the cooler weather approaches is people gathering indoors with new variants still being discovered.