MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: Rates Rise In 82% Of Towns

MASSACHUSETTS — Positive coronavirus test rates rose in the vast majority of Massachusetts communities over the last two weeks and 158 cities and towns were designated high risk by the Department of Health Thursday.

Nearly half of the state's communities — 170 of 351 — reported positive test rates above 5 percent over 14 days, according to the town-by-town data released Thursday.

The state also reported 5,130 coronavirus cases and 41 deaths Thursday. On Wednesday, the state reported 89 deaths, the most since the beginning of June. The seven-day average of hospitalized patients increased to 1,498, up from 1,210 a week prior. There were 307 patients in intensive care Thursday.

The latest town-by-town report labeled 158 Massachusetts communities as high risk for the virus, up from 97 last week; the full list can be found at the end of this article.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks increased in 289 — or 82.3 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate fell in 38 — or 10.8 percent of — communities and held steady in the remaining 24.

There were 50 average daily cases per 100,000 residents of the state over that period, up from 35.7 last week.

To date, there have been 264,454 cases and 10,963 deaths statewide since the pandemic began. Officials estimate that there were 63,362 active cases as of Thursday.

Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch.

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. Nearly half of towns, 170, towns had positive test rates at or above 5 percent over the last two weeks, up from 104 last week.

Five towns reported positive test rates of 15 percent or higher: Hancock, Buckland, Lawrence, Seekonk and Heath.

Just 54 communities had positive rates below 2 percent.

The state reported 97,353 new tests Thursday, bringing the total to 9.3 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.

Don't miss updates about precautions in your area as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

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 738 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in.

Pin colors correspond to changes in positive test rates: cities and towns with rising test rates are marked red, those with falling test rates are marked green and those with level test rates are yellow.

High risk communities: Abington, Acushnet, Agawam, Amesbury, Andover, Ashland, Attleboro, Auburn, Avon, Ayer, Barnstable, Bellingham, Berkley, Billerica, Blackstone, Boxford, Boylston, Bridgewater, Brockton, Burlington, Carver, Charlton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, Concord, Danvers, Dartmouth, Dighton, Douglas, Dover, Dracut, Dudley, East Bridgewater, Edgartown, Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Freetown, Gardner, Georgetown, Gloucester, Grafton, Granby, Groveland, Halifax, Hamilton, Hanover, Hanson, Harwich, Haverhill, Holbrook, Holden, Holyoke, Hopedale, Hudson, Lakeville, Lancaster, Lawrence, Leicester, Lenox, Leominster, Littleton, Lowell, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Manchester, Mansfield, Marion, Marlborough, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Melrose, Mendon, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleborough, Middleton, Milford, Millbury, Millis, Montague, Nantucket, New Bedford, Norfolk, North Andover, North Attleborough, North Brookfield, Northborough, Norton, Norwood, Oxford, Palmer, Peabody, Pembroke, Pittsfield, Plainville, Plymouth, Quincy, Randolph, Raynham, Rehoboth, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Rowley, Rutland, Salem, Salisbury, Saugus, Seekonk, Shirley, Shrewsbury, Somerset, Southampton, Southborough, Southbridge, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Sterling, Stoneham, Stoughton, Sturbridge, Sutton, Swansea, Taunton, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Upton, Uxbridge, Wakefield, Walpole, Wareham, Webster, West Boylston, West Bridgewater, West Springfield, Westfield, Westford, Westminster, Westport, Weymouth, Whitman, Wilbraham, Wilmington, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester, Yarmouth