Newton's COVID-19 Positivity Rate Drops To 4.7%

NEWTON, MA — Newton's positive COVID-19 test rate is nowat 4.7 percent, a 2 percent decrease since last week, according to the latest municipal-level data released by the Department of Public Health Thursday.

This week, the City of Newton reported a two-week case count of 1,292 compared to last week's case count of 1,728, a sign that local cases are continuing to slow. Also over the past week, Newton was adding 100.6 new cases per day per 100,000 people. That's much lower than the 134.6 cases per 100,000 in Newton measured on Jan. 28.

On Thursday afternoon, the state Department of Public Health reported 4,829 new coronavirus cases statewide and 59 new deaths. The seven-day average number of hospitalized patients was 2,067.9, down from 2,824 the week before.

The latest vaccine report shows the number of residents who are fully vaccinated has risen to 5.21 million. Over 88 percent are fully vaccinated in Newton, and over 95 percent are partially vaccinated.

The state releases town-by-town testing data every Thursday, including the number of people tested, the testing rate, the positive test rate, cases and infection rates.