MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus: Most Hospitalized Since 2020

MASSACHUSETTS — Coronavirus cases continued to increase in the vast majority of Massachusetts communities, according to the latest town-by-town report released by the Department of Public Health.

As of Wednesday, there were more people hospitalized with the virus than at any point since the initial wave in the spring of 2020.

Over 90 percent of communities reported rising positive test rates and cases relative to last week's report and all four statewide metrics continued to rise.

The positive rate hit 22 percent, the highest level since April 2020. The average hospitalization rate neared the worst level of last winter, but deaths continue to rise more slowly.

Just four Massachusetts cities and towns reported positive rates below 2 percent.

The Department of Public Health reported 24,570 new coronavirus cases, 43 deaths and 44,420 vaccine doses administered Thursday.

The seven-day average number of hospitalized patients was 2,184.8, double the level a month prior. Over 2,500 people were hospitalized with the virus, as of Wednesday.

The weekly average case count was 12,657.9 daily cases, up from 4,411.3 a month prior.

The weekly average positive-test rate rose from 17.79 percent to 22.43 percent over the last week.

There were 34.8 deaths per day over the last week, up from 29.6 a week ago.

Vaccines

The latest vaccine report shows the number of residents who are fully vaccinated has risen to 5.11 million. Another 799,297 residents have received one dose of the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, the state said.

Booster doses have been given to 2.2 million residents.

Nearly three-quarters of the state's population, 74.9 percent, is fully vaccinated, but some communities lag behind, according to state data. Seven communities continue to report that fewer than half their residents are even partially vaccinated. Compare that with the more than 90 percent of residents fully vaccinated in 26 cities and towns, level with last week's report.

Community-Level Data

How to use this map: Zoom in on the map below and click on a pin to see that community's coronavirus vaccination rates. You can also view the town-by-town coronavirus vaccination data in the spreadsheet we used to create this map.

Colors reflect the percentage of the population fully vaccinated, from under 50 percent, red, to more than 70 percent, green. The state did not report vaccination numbers for the one gray community. Some communities are grouped together for the purpose of vaccination data.

Note: For dozens of communities, up to 30 vaccinations may be missing from the data, as the state does not report totals for demographic subgroups with fewer than 30 vaccinated. No vaccination data is available for one community with a particularly low population: Gosnold.

The data also does not include 1,612 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in.

Other Key Coronavirus Metrics

Of 2,524 hospitalized patients, there were 416 patients in intensive care Wednesday, up 34 from a week prior.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks fell in 19 — or 5.4 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate rose in 325 — or 92.6 percent — of the communities. It held steady in the remaining seven. Over two-thirds of communities reported rising case counts.

All but four communities reported positive test rates higher than 2 percent during the past two weeks, including 335 with test rates above 5 percent. Nineteen reported positive rates above 20 percent.

Statewide, there were 151.7 average daily cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks, up from 83 in last week's report.

To date, there have been 1,159,950 cases and 20,051 deaths statewide since the pandemic began.

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The state reported 114,017 new tests Friday, bringing the total administered to 36.7 million.

The data includes coronavirus cases for all Massachusetts communities, except for those with populations under 50,000 and where there are 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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