Wilmington Coronavirus Rates Rise, Town Upgraded To Yellow

WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington was newly designated a moderate risk, yellow, community in the state's latest town-by-town coronavirus update, Wednesday. The town has 20 active positives, the Board of Health said Wednesday.

Towns were labeled yellow if they reported more than four confirmed cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks. Wilmington reported 14 new cases, bringing it to 4.1 per 100,000.

According to data released by the Board of Health, 13 of the town's 20 current coronavirus patients are 30 or under and none are over 60. But the Boarded reported 11 cases at the Care One nursing home, Tuesday, separate from the community count.

Forty communities were labeled high-risk, Wednesday. State rules mean that high-risk communities, plus others that were high-risk in the last two updates, cannot move on to the next phase of reopening. Towns were marked high-risk, or red, if they reported more than eight confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks.

>>MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: 40 High-Risk Communities

The latest data showed the positive test rate over the last two weeks increased in 176 of the 351 communities in the state. The rate fell in 68 communities and held steady in the remaining 148.

The town's percent positive rate over the last two weeks rose to 2.03 percent. Health officials say positive 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.

View the state's interactive COVID-19 map.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.

This article originally appeared on the Wilmington Patch