Coronavirus In Waltham: 'The Surge Has Not Ended,' Mayor Says

WALTHAM, MA — The number of people who have tested positive in the city for the new coronavirus is nearly up to 700 as of Monday. During the past week an additional 22 people have died, according to city data.

Waltham is among the hardest hit when it comes to the number of people who test positive for the coronavirus, according to the weekly accounts from the state. Out of 294 towns and 57 cities in the commonwealth, Waltham came in the top 20 for the number of positive cases on April 22, the last day the state released those numbers.

As of Monday, April 27, at least 28 people had died and a total of 694 people had tested positive for the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness, according to city data.

"There's some very serious news right now with our numbers," said Mayor Jeannette McCarthy in her Sunday night update. "The surge has not ended in Waltham."

The mayor implored residents to isolate anyone who is sick and asked those living in the same house to stay away from them, and for anyone in Waltham to remember when going out of the house to wear masks.

McCarthy said she was worried about the numbers and was also looking ahead at how Waltham would reopen when it came time.

"The governor has indicated - and I agree with him - that all of these decisions are based on the data.

White House officials recommended that states consider reopening parts of their economies after 14 straight days of declining numbers. But Gov. Charlie Baker, who described the state as "a national hot spot for COVID-19 infections," said hospitalization rates will be the most important factor. Hospitalization rates are still increasing slightly.

"I know everybody's getting cabin fever right now," said McCarthy "But there's a couple more weeks we have to get through, we have to see the numbers, the data, go down, and right now the numbers are not going down."

Watch the mayor's weekly update:

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Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).