MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: Hospitalizations Rise

MASSACHUSETTS — Nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts communities reported rising positive test rates and case counts in the latest town-level report released by the Department of Public Health Thursday.

Just 35 Massachusetts communities didn't report a single positive test over the last two weeks, down from 46 in the last report.

But statewide metrics for the last week paint a mixed picture, with a slight drop in coronavirus cases, a slight increase in the positive test rate and a significant rise in hospitalizations and patients in the ICU.

The Department of Public Health reported 1,228 new coronavirus cases, 10 deaths and 11,215 vaccine doses administered Thursday.

The weekly average case count fell from 908 daily cases on Aug. 4 to 815 on Aug. 11. The weekly average positive test rate rose slightly from 2.79 percent to 2.86 percent.

The lowest positive rate was just 0.31 percent on June 25.

The seven-day average number of hospitalized patients was 309.5, up from 218.6 a week prior.

Vaccines

The latest vaccine report shows the number of residents who are fully vaccinated has risen to 4.41 million. Another 492,546 residents have received one dose of the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

More than 64 percent of the state's population is fully vaccinated, but some communities lag behind, according to state data. Nineteen 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 eight cities and towns.

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 two communities with particularly low populations: Gosnold and Monroe.

The data also does not include 942 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in.

Other Key Coronavirus Metrics

Of 375 hospitalized patients, there were 85 patients in intensive care Wednesday, up 30 from a week prior.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks fell in 72 — or 17.4 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate rose in 232 — or 66.1 percent — of the communities. It held steady in the remaining 58.

Nearly half of communities reported positive test rates higher than 2 percent during the past two weeks, including 38 with test rates above 5 percent — double the number last week. The highest rate, 20 percent, was reported by Leyden.

Statewide, there were 12.2 average daily cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks, up from 8.5 in last week's report.

To date, there have been 684,836 cases and 17,761 deaths statewide since the pandemic began.

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The state reported 52,270 new tests Thursday, bringing the total administered to 25.1 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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