Newton's Coronavirus Risk Level Rises To Moderate

NEWTON, MA — The percentage of Newton residents who tested positive increased to 0.46 percent, pushing Newton's COVID-19 risk level from the low category to the "moderate" category recently, raised questions about how much Boston College's recent spike in cases has impacted the city.

"Newton’s move from a low to a moderate COVID-19 risk level cannot be solely attributed to the Boston College outbreak," said Mayor Ruthanne Fuller in a statement, referring to the recent spike in numbers at Boston College that put a spotlight on the issue of students returning to campus nearby.

Fuller said Newton’s Health and Human Services staff pinned at least some of the city's recent communication cases to residents who traveled with or socialized with people not in their household group.

The state is reporting 53 confirmed Newton cases during the most recent two-week reporting period from Aug. 30 to Sept. 12. The risk level is based on the average daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents during the two-week reporting period. Newton’s rate is now 4.1 cases per 100,000, up from 1.9 last week when it was considered "green." Communities are designated as moderate risk when they have at least four cases per 100,000 people.

In the city 920 people have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Sept. 20. Of those, 133 people have died as of Sept. 16.

Newton’s positivity rate is still lower than the state average of 0.97 percent.

Of the 53 Newton cases during that two-week reporting period, 24 of them or 45 percent are Boston College students who live in Newton. This group of 24 is a subset of Boston College cases reported on the Boston College COVID-19 dashboard because not all Boston College students live in Newton.

Between Sept 14 and Sept 20, Boston College conducted 4,639 tests, and of those 17 tested positive, compared to 73 who tested positive the week before.

On Sept. 14, after pushback from Newton, Boston and Brookline Boston College began use the state’s Community Tracing Collaborative for case investigations and contact tracing rather than for BC to do this itself.

The Health Departments from Newton, Boston and Brookline coordinate with the collaborative and will continue to work collaboratively with the BC Health Services staff. Newton’s Health and Human Services staff oversees all cases of people who reside at Newton addresses, including BC students living in dorms on-campus or in off-campus apartments and homes, according to the mayor.

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