MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: High-Risk List Falls Sharply

MASSACHUSETTS — The Massachusetts Department of Health designated 153 cities and towns as high risk for the coronavirus in the latest community-level report Thursday, down 39 from last week. Positive test rates fell in more than three-quarters of cities and towns.

The seven-day average positive test rate for the state fell to 3.29 percent, down a percentage point over the last week. Statewide case counts, hospitalizations and deaths also all fell over the last week.

The state expanded vaccine eligibility to all people over 75 Monday, although Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday that he was "unhappy" with the rollout, as accessibility was a challenge for many eligible residents.

Restrictions on businesses will be loosened Monday following the dramatic recent decline in virus cases. Many businesses will be allowed to operate at 40 percent capacity, up from 25 percent.

There were 2,602 new confirmed cases and 74 deaths Thursday.

The seven-day average of hospitalized patients was 1,698, down from 1,995 a week prior. There were 335 patients in intensive care.

The town-by-town report labeled 153 Massachusetts communities as high risk for the virus, down from 192 last week; the full list can be found at the end of this article.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks fell in 281 — or 80.1 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate rose in 43 — or 12.3 percent — of communities and held steady in the remaining 27. Two-week confirmed case counts rose in just 53 communities.

There were 48.9 average daily cases per 100,000 residents of the state over that period, down from 59.4 last week.

To date, there have been 507,166 cases and 14,498 confirmed deaths statewide since the pandemic began. Officials estimate that there were 61,864 active cases as of Thursday.

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Health officials say positive coronavirus 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. The number of communities reporting rates above 5 percent fell to 154, from 197 last week.

Just two towns, Mount Washington and Peru, reported positive test rates above 15 percent. Fifty-nine reported test rates below 2 percent.

The state reported 81,286 new tests Thursday, bringing the total to 13.96 million.

The data includes coronavirus cases for all Massachusetts communities, except for those with populations under 50,000 and 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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How to use this map: Zoom in on the map below and click on a pin to see that community's coronavirus case data. You can also view the town-by-town coronavirus data in the spreadsheet we used to create this map.

The map does not include 1,448 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in.

Pin colors correspond to the state's risk designations. Red pins are high-risk, or red, communities. Yellow pins are medium risk, green pins low risk and grey pins at most 15 total cases.

High-risk communities: Abington, Acushnet, Adams, Agawam, Ashburnham, Attleboro, Auburn, Avon, Ayer, Barnstable, Barre, Bellingham, Berkley, Berlin, Blackstone, Boxford, Boylston, Braintree, Brewster, Bridgewater, Brockton, Canton, Carver, Charlton, Chatham, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, Cohasset, Dartmouth, Dedham, Dennis, Dighton, Douglas, Dracut, East Bridgewater, Edgartown, Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Fitchburg, Foxborough, Framingham, Freetown, Gardner, Georgetown, Granby, Great Barrington, Groveland, Halifax, Hamilton, Hampden, Hanover, Hanson, Harwich, Haverhill, Holbrook, Holyoke, Hopedale, Hudson, Hull, Kingston, Lakeville, Lancaster, Lawrence, Leominster, Littleton, Lowell, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Mansfield, Marion, Marlborough, Marshfield, Maynard, Mendon, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleborough, Middleton, Milford, Millbury, Millis, Monson, Nahant, Nantucket, New Bedford, North Attleborough, North Brookfield, Norton, Norwood, Oak Bluffs, Orleans, Oxford, Palmer, Paxton, Peabody, Pembroke, Pepperell, Plainville, Plymouth, Quincy, Randolph, Raynham, Rehoboth, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Rutland, Salisbury, Sandwich, Saugus, Seekonk, Shirley, Somerset, Southampton, Southborough, Southbridge, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Sterling, Stoughton, Sutton, Swansea, Taunton, Templeton, Topsfield, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Uxbridge, Wakefield, Walpole, Wareham, Webster, West Boylston, West Bridgewater, West Brookfield, West Springfield, Westfield, Westminster, Westport, Westwood, Weymouth, Whitman, Winchendon, Winthrop, Worcester and Wrentham.