Politics & Government
North Shore Coronavirus Case Counts Head In Wrong Direction
Three communities — Peabody, Salem and Swampscott — saw their positive test rise above the state rate of 1.82 percent.
SALEM, MA — Most North Shore communities saw increases in the number of active cases and the percentage of positive tests for the week ended Wednesday, according to town-by-town COVID-19 data released by the state Department of Public Health.
Three communities — Peabody, Salem and Swampscott — saw their positive test rise above the state rate of 1.82 percent. Of the six communities analyzed by Patch, Beverly was the only place where both the active case rate and the positive test rate declined. The other five were among the more than 100 Massachusetts municipalities that saw increases over the past week.
| City/Town | Case Count (Last 14 Days) | Last Week | Percent Positive (Last 14 Days) | Last Week |
| Beverly | 12 | 14 | 1.34% | 1.49% |
| Danvers | 7 | 5 | 1.40% | 0.81 |
| Marblehead | 9 | 6 | 1.43% | 1.17% |
| Peabody | 39 | 22 | 2.48% | 1.79% |
| Salem | 35 | 21 | 2.42% | 1.97% |
| Swampscott | 7 | 6 | 2.01% | 1.61% |
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 up social distancing restrictions.
Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Read more: Latest Town-By-Town Coronavirus Cases In Massachusetts
Dave Copeland covers the North Shore for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).
Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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