Beverly Hospital Coronavirus Admissions Climb After Hitting Zero

BEVERLY, MA — On July 13, Beverly Hospital discharged three patients who had been treated for the coronavirus and, in the process, hit a milestone: It was the first time since the COVID-19 crisis started in March that the hospital wasn't treating at least one coronavirus patient.

The victory was short-lived: The following day, five coronavirus patients were admitted to the hospital, including one who was being treated in intensive care. Since then, the numbers have steadily risen. As of Sunday, the hospital was treating 12 coronavirus patients, including three in intensive care.

Beverly has made steady progress in containing the coronavirus. When the state Department of Public Health released town-by-town coronavirus data on Wednesday, Beverly was among the 80 percent of Massachusetts municipalities that had shown a decrease in active cases over the previous 14 days. Its 14-day positive test rate was 1.34 percent, below the state average of 1.91 percent and the 2 percent level health officials use as a benchmark for when it is safe to begin relaxing some social distancing measures.