MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus: New Cases Top 5K

MASSACHUSETTS — Massachusetts reported over 5,000 new coronavirus cases Thursday for the first time since Jan. 16, 2020, as all coronavirus metrics continue to surge.

The weekly average positive rate is nearly 5 percent, according to the latest data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

For a second consecutive week, over three-quarters of Massachusetts communities reported rising positive test rates over the last two weeks, according to town-by-town data released Thursday. Just eight Massachusetts communities didn't report a single positive test over the last two weeks, down four the last report.

The Department of Public Health reported 5,170 new coronavirus cases, 31 deaths and 45,462 vaccine doses administered Thursday.

The seven-day average number of hospitalized patients was 854.5, up from 704.1 the week prior. Nearly 1,000 people were hospitalized with the virus, as of Wednesday.

The weekly average case count was 2,363.4 daily cases, up from 1,155.9 a month prior.

The weekly average positive-test rate rose from 3.48 percent to 4.94 percent. The lowest positive rate was 0.31 percent on June 25.

But the death rate is down slightly, from 13.7 deaths per day a week ago to 13.3 as of Thursday's report.

Vaccines

The latest vaccine report shows the number of residents who are fully vaccinated has risen to 4.88 million. Another 842,195 residents have received one dose of the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

Booster doses have been given to 1,169,799 residents.

Over two-thirds of the state's population, 71.3 percent, is fully vaccinated, but some communities lag behind, according to state data. Nine 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 14 cities and towns, up two from last week.

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 two gray communities. 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 1,024 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in.

Other Key Coronavirus Metrics

Of 989 hospitalized patients, there were 206 patients in intensive care Wednesday, up 47 from a week prior.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks fell in 54 — or 15.4 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate rose in 266 — or 75.8 percent — of the communities. It held steady in the remaining 31. Over three-quarters of communities also reported rising case counts.

Over 85 percent of communities reported positive test rates higher than 2 percent during the past two weeks, including 181 with test rates above 5 percent — up 41 from last week. Twenty-five reported positive rates above 10 percent.

Statewide, there were 34.3 average daily cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks, up from 30.5 in last week's report.

To date, there have been 865,540 cases and 19,047 deaths statewide since the pandemic began.

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The state reported 120,218 new tests Friday, bringing the total administered to 33.7 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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