Peabody Coronavirus: More Deaths Than Recoveries

PEABODY, MA — As of Tuesday, 60 Peabody residents had died after contracting COVID-19. That was more than the 51 Peabody residents that had recovered from the virus.

Both numbers were a fraction of the 616 confirmed cases in Peabody, of which 505, or 82 percent, were considered still active. Aside from a man with preexisting conditions in his fifties, all of the Peabody residents who have died from the new coronavirus were 70 or older.

The new numbers accent that older people remain more susceptible and less likely to recover from the new coronavirus. It's also important to note that the 60 coronavirus-related deaths in Peabody are "reported" deaths; health officials have been warning that the actual death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is much higher than the official count.

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Not only are older people more likely to die from coronavirus, they're also more likely to catch it. Of the 616 confirmed cases, 69 percent were people over 50.

On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released an update of town-by-town case counts showing that Peabody had 1,095.66 per 100,000 residents. That was above the state average 865.03 cases per 100,000 residents. Officials attribute the higher number of cases in Peabody to the relatively higher proportion of nursing homes and long term care facilities in the city.

Read the complete Peabody coronavirus report on the city's Website.

More Coronavirus Coverage On Massachusetts Patch:

• State Needs To Increase Coronavirus Testing To Safely Reopen
• CDC Data Suggest Coronavirus Death Count Higher
• Many MA Residents Still Waiting For Coronavirus Stimulus Checks
• Coronavirus Case Counts For Every Massachusetts Town (Updated April 29)

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).