A case of making one’s point in a supposedly straight news story:
As an editor the word “only” is usually a red flag for me. It’s an easy way for a reporter to slip in his or her own opinion about whether a number is so high as to merit concern or so low as to not be worth fretting about. A fine example is this
The reporter just knows what’s going on but is not a columnist, so . . .
Blithe Spirit 