Danvers Coronavirus: 65 Percent Of Cases In Nursing Homes

DANVERS, MA —The town's high rate of new coronavirus infection can be attributed to the large number of nursing homes in Danvers, officials said Friday.

In a conference call with other town officials, Danvers Public Health Director Mark L. Carleo said 65 percent of the confirmed cases in Danvers were in the town's nursing homes.

Related Story: Coronavirus Concerns Mount At Beverly Nursing Home

As of Tuesday, there were 190 confirmed coronavirus cases in Danvers, putting the town at a rate of 665.36 cases per 100,000 residents. That put the town in the top 10 percent of infection rates in Massachusetts.

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The number "is alarming," Town Manager Steve Bartha said. "But when you strip out those nursing home cases, we're at 320 cases per 100,000, which is closer to the median."

Carleo said the town's public health nurse is in contact with each nursing home in Danvers on a daily basis. He declined to provide specific case counts for individual nursing homes, citing medical privacy regulations.

The streaming session (above) was designed to let residents ask town officials questions about the new coronavirus crisis. In other topics covered:

• Bartha said the town does not plan to close the Rail Trail, despite complaints from residents.
• The town is not planning to issue a mandate require the use of face coverings in public as has been done in other North Shore communities. Carelo said his department would instead issue a face covering advisory later on Friday.

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• Massachusetts Coronavirus: 140,000 File For Unemployment
• MA's Drop In Child Abuse Claims A Troubling Sign

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).