[ad_1]
Ninety-seven towns and villages in Massachusetts are now classified as “at high risk” for the spread of the coronavirus, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Public Health.
These communities include: Abington, Acushnet, Attleboro, Barnstable, Bellingham, Berkley, Billerica, Blackstone, Boxford, Brockton, Charlton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, Dartmouth, Dighton, Douglas, Dracut, Edgartown, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg , Framingham, Freetown, Gardner, Georgetown, Granby, Hampden, Hanover, Haverhill, Holden, Holyoke, Hopedale, Hudson, Lancaster, Lawrence, Leicester, Lenox, Leominster, Littleton, Lowell, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lynn, Malden, Marion, Mendon , Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, Milford, Millbury, Monson, New Bedford, Newbury, Norfolk, North Attleborough, North Brookfield, Palmer, Paxton, Peabody, Pittsfield, Plainville, Randolph, Rehoboth, Revere, Rutland, Salisbury, Saugus, Seekonk, Shirley, Somerset, Southborough, Southbridge, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Sterling, Stoneham, Stoughton, Sturbridge, Sutton, Swansea, Taunton, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Upton, Uxbridge, Wareham, Wenham, West Boylston, West Springfield, Westport, Whitman, Wilm ington and Woburn.
Last week, the number of cities designated as high risk was 81. Health officials in November announced changes in how they classify levels of risk of COVID-19 transmission.
The risk designations – which are colored, gray, green, yellow, and red depending on infection levels – are now determined using several new parameters for three population categories: communities of less than 10,000; between 10,000 and 50,000; and greater than 50,000.
Officials say the new categories help make community-specific data more nuanced and better reflect the increase in cases in small communities and for communities where testing is more robust.
For communities of less than 10,000 residents, “gray” will be assigned if there are 10 total cases or less; “Green” if there are more than 15 cases; “Yellow” if there are up to 25 cases; and “red” if there are more than 25 cases.
For communities of 10,000 to 50,000 residents, “gray” will be assigned if there are 10 total cases or less; “Green” if there are less than 10 average cases per 100,000 inhabitants and more than 10 cases; “Yellow” if there are 10 or more cases per 100,000 residents or a test positivity rate of 5% or more; and “red” if there are 10 or more cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 5% or more.
And for communities with more than 50,000 residents, “gray” will be assigned if there are 15 total cases or less; “Green” if there are less than 10 average cases per 100,000 inhabitants and more than 15 cases; “Yellow” if there are 10 or more cases per 100,000 residents or a test positive rate of 4% or more; and “red” if there are 10 or more cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 4% or more.
State health officials on Thursday reported 6,477 new cases of COVID-19, which includes a backlog of 680 cases.
“The delay in notification was caused by a technical issue with the software used by this lab’s reporting provider,” health officials said.
Officials also reported 49 new COVID-related deaths, for a total of 10,637 confirmed deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Thursday’s workload is based on 111,734 new molecular tests, according to the Department of Public Health. There are now 49,225 active cases of the virus statewide, officials said.
There have been 232,264 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts since the start of the pandemic.
The seven-day average of positive tests rose to 5.29%, up from a low of 0.8% in September. Hospitalizations increased to 1,324, including 261 patients in intensive care.
Related content:
[ad_2]
Source link