23 Massachusetts cities and towns labeled high risk for coronavirus
More than two dozen cities and towns will not be allowed to move forward with the next phase of reopening on Monday, health officials said as weekly data showed a record 23 communities now listed as high-risk for coronavirus transmission.
The rising risk for several cities and towns comes after Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday that “lower-risk” communities — those not listed as red in any of the past three weekly Department of Public Health reports — could move forward with the next phase of reopening on Monday and bump up the limit on public outdoor gatherings.
Attleboro, Avon, Boston, Chelsea, Dedham, Dracut, Everett, Framingham, Haverhill, Holliston, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Marlboro, Methuen, Middleton, Monson, Nantucket, New Bedford, North Andover, Plainville, Revere, Saugus, Springfield, Tyngsboro, Winthrop, Worcester and Wrentham are all prohibited from proceeding next week, DPH said.
Most of those 29 communities that can’t move ahead are in the state’s red zone. Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Holliston, Lawrence, Lynn, Marlboro, Nantucket, New Bedford, Revere, Winthrop and Worcester were all red for at least the second week in a row after they reported an average daily case rate of at least eight per 100,000 residents over the 14-day period ending Saturday.
Boston was a newcomer this week, the state Department of Public Health announced Wednesday. And a slew of Merrimack Valley communities joined or returned to the list days after Merrimack College said it was temporarily shifting to remote learning after an outbreak afflicted dozens of students.
Attleboro, Avon, Dracut, Haverhill, Lowell, Lynnfield, Methuen, Middleton, North Andover and Springfield were all among the new and returning entrants to the red zone, while Wrentham, Saugus and Tyngsboro dropped off the high-risk list this week.
The number of moderate-risk communities — shaded “yellow” on the state’s risk map — climbed to 79 from 64 last week, while 60 were shaded green for having low risk, DPH reported. The 23 in the red represent the highest number since the state began using its color-coded risk assessment system in August.
Public health officials on Wednesday also reported 32 new coronavirus deaths and 510 new cases, while the daily positive test rate continued to hover around 3%. The seven-day weighted average of the Bay State’s positive test rate held steady at 1%.
Rick Sobey contributed to this report.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3n8ynET
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