Needham Coronavirus Cases Decrease, Town Remains "Moderate Risk"

NEEDHAM, MA — Needham's COVID-19 cases decreased over the last two weeks, but the town is still listed by the state as a "moderate risk" for the virus. Needham reported 18 new COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks, bringing the total case count to 415.

Needham is considered "moderate risk" because it has an average daily incidence rate of 4.4 cases per every 100,000 residents.

In the last two weeks, Needham tested 3,807 people for a total of 20,104 tests administered in town. Twenty-one tests have come back positive over the last two weeks. The town's percent positive rate over the last two weeks stayed at o.55 percent. Health officials say positive 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.

State rules mean that high-risk communities, plus others that were high-risk in the last two updates, cannot move on to the next phase of reopening. Sixty-three communities were designated high-risk in the new town-by-town data released by the state Wednesday.

View the state's interactive COVID-19 map.