MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: 188 High-Risk Communities
MASSACHUSETTS — More than half of Massachusetts cities and towns were again designated high risk by the Massachusetts Department of Health Thursday, in the latest community-level coronavirus data report.
The high-risk list grew by just one community, but positive test rates continued to rise in almost half of the state.
The state reported 7,424 confirmed cases and 46 deaths in a two-day report Saturday; no report was published Friday, which was Christmas Day.
The seven-day average of hospitalized patients was 2,077 Friday, up from 1,846 a week prior. There were 416 patients in intensive care.
The seven-day average positive test rate was 6.3 percent statewide, up 2 percent over the last month.
The town-by-town report labeled 188 Massachusetts communities as high risk for the virus, up from 187 last week; the full list can be found at the end of this article.
The positive test rate over the last two weeks increased in 171 — or 48.7 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate fell in 145 — or 41.3 percent of — communities and held steady in the remaining 35.
There were 63.2 average daily cases per 100,000 residents of the state over that period, down from 65.1 last week.
To date, there have been 335,731 cases and 11,752 confirmed deaths statewide since the pandemic began. Officials estimate that there were 78,086 active cases as of Thursday.
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Health officials say positive coronavirus test results need to stay below 5 percent for two weeks or longer and, preferably, be closer to 2 percent, for states to safely ease restrictions. For a second consecutive week, over 200 towns had positive test rates at or above 5 percent over the last two weeks. The number reporting rates above 5 percent fell from 207 to 204.
Three towns reported positive test rates of 15 percent or higher: Hancock, Lawrence, New Ashford and Middlefield.
Forty-one communities had positive rates below 2 percent, up from 36 last week.
The state reported 108,445 new tests Thursday, bringing the total to 10.6 million.
The data includes coronavirus cases for all Massachusetts communities, except for those with populations under 50,000 and fewer than five cases. The department said the stipulation was designed to protect the privacy of patients in those towns and cities.
The state releases town-by-town testing data every Thursday, including the number of people tested, the testing rate, the positive test rate, cases and infection rates.
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How to use this map: Zoom in on the map below and click on a pin to see that community's coronavirus case data. You can also view the town-by-town coronavirus data in the spreadsheet we used to create this map.
The map does not include 928 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in.
Pin colors correspond to changes in positive test rates: cities and towns with rising test rates are marked red, those with falling test rates are marked green and those with level test rates are yellow.
High-risk communities: Abington, Acushnet, Agawam, Amesbury, Andover, Ashburnham, Ashland, Athol, Attleboro, Auburn, Avon, Ayer, Barnstable, Bellingham, Berkley, Beverly, Billerica, Blackstone, Boxford, Boylston, Braintree, Brewster, Bridgewater, Brockton, Brookfield, Burlington, Carlisle, Carver, Charlton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, Cohasset, Danvers, Dartmouth, Dedham, Deerfield, Dighton, Douglas, Dracut, Dudley, East Bridgewater, East Longmeadow, Easton, Edgartown, Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Freetown, Gardner, Georgetown, Gloucester, Grafton, Granby, Groveland, Hadley, Halifax, Hamilton, Hanover, Hanson, Haverhill, Hingham, Holbrook, Holden, Holliston, Holyoke, Hudson, Hull, Lakeville, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lee, Leicester, Leominster, Littleton, Longmeadow, Lowell, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Manchester, Mansfield, Marion, Marlborough, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Medway, Melrose, Mendon, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleborough, Middleton, Milford, Millbury, Millis, Milton, Monson, Montague, Nantucket, New Bedford, Newbury, Newburyport, Norfolk, North Andover, North Attleborough, North Brookfield, North Reading, Northborough, Norton, Norwood, Oak Bluffs, Orange, Oxford, Palmer, Paxton, Peabody, Pembroke, Pepperell, Plainville, Plymouth, Quincy, Randolph, Raynham, Reading, Rehoboth, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Rowley, Rutland, Salem, Salisbury, Saugus, Seekonk, Shirley, Shrewsbury, Somerset, Southampton, Southborough, Southbridge, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Sterling, Stoneham, Stoughton, Sturbridge, Sutton, Swampscott, Swansea, Taunton, Templeton, Tewksbury, Tisbury, Topsfield, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Uxbridge, Wakefield, Walpole, Waltham, Wareham, Webster, West Boylston, West Bridgewater, West Brookfield, West Springfield, Westborough, Westfield, Westford, Westminster, Westport, Weymouth, Whitman, Wilbraham, Wilmington, Winchendon, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester and Yarmouth.
This article originally appeared on the Boston Patch
