Health & Fitness

Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: MA Hits 600K Cases

Hospitalizations have ticked up as the positive test rate rose in nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts communities.

Massachusetts reported 2,455 coronavirus cases, 32 deaths and 83,879 vaccine doses administered Thursday.
Massachusetts reported 2,455 coronavirus cases, 32 deaths and 83,879 vaccine doses administered Thursday. (Emily Leayman/Patch)

MASSACHUSETTS — Massachusetts reported its 600,000th coronavirus case in the latest daily report Thursday.

The state also labeled 55 communities as high risk for the coronavirus Thursday in the latest town-by-town report from the Department of Public Health, up from 32 in the previous report. The full list of high-risk communities is available at the end of this story.

The seven-day average positive test rate for the state rose to 2.49 percent, up from 2.39 percent a week prior.

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The state reported 2,455 coronavirus cases, 32 deaths and 83,879 vaccine doses Thursday.

The latest vaccine report shows the number of residents who are fully vaccinated has risen to 1.37 million. Another 989,000 received one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

Find out what's happening in Across Massachusettswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Of the 4.3 million doses the state has received, 83.7 percent have been administered.

The seven-day average number of hospitalized patients was 667, up from 602 a week prior. There were 166 patients in intensive care.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks fell in 65 — or 18.5 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate rose in 231 — or 65.8 percent — of communities and held steady in the remaining 55. Two-week confirmed case counts rose in 222 communities.

There were 25.6 average daily cases per 100,000 residents of the state over that period, up from 21.5 last week.

To date, there have been 600,632 cases and 16,876 deaths statewide since the pandemic began. Officials estimated there were 32,868 active cases as of Thursday.

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Health officials say positive coronavirus 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 restrictions. The number of communities reporting rates above 5 percent rose from 24 to 60.

The state reported 107,740 new tests Thursday, bringing the total to 18.9 million.

The data includes coronavirus cases for all Massachusetts communities, except for those with populations under 50,000 and fewer than five cases. The department said the stipulation was designed to protect the privacy of patients in those towns and cities.

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.

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How to use this map: Zoom in on the map below and click on a pin to see that community's coronavirus case data. You can also view the town-by-town coronavirus data in the spreadsheet we used to create this map.

The map does not include 1,237 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in.

Pin colors correspond to the state's risk designations. Red pins are high-risk, or red, communities. Yellow pins are medium risk, green pins low risk and grey pins at most 15 total cases for communities over 50,000 people and 10 for smaller communities.


High-risk communities: Abington, Adams, Athol, Ayer, Barnstable, Blackstone, Brewster, Brockton, Canton, Carver, Chicopee, Dennis, Dracut, Everett, Fall River, Framingham, Freetown, Granby, Halifax, Hampden, Hanson, Harwich, Lakeville, Lawrence, Lowell, Ludlow, Lynn, Mansfield, Mashpee, Methuen, Milford, Monson, Nantucket, New Bedford, North Attleborough, Orange, Palmer, Peabody, Pembroke, Plainville, Plymouth, Raynham, Sandwich, Saugus, Seekonk, Southborough, Springfield, Sutton, Templeton, Tyngsborough, Ware, West Boylston, West Bridgewater, Williamstown and Yarmouth.


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