MASSACHUSETTS – The number of communities at high risk for coronavirus dropped dramatically in the Thursday-for-city state report as positive test scores dropped in more than three-quarters of cities and towns.
The seven-day average positive test rate for the state dropped to 2.65 percent, the lowest level since early November. The number of cases nationwide, hospitalizations and deaths have also dropped over the past week.
Government Charlie Baker said Thursday that the state will distribute more than one million vaccination shots over the past two months.
Those aged 75 and over allowed one caregiver or companion to accompany them to the appointment from Thursday and be vaccinated themselves if they register for an appointment.
There were 2,213 newly confirmed cases and 61 deaths Thursday.
The seven-day average of hospitalized patients was 1,419, up from 1,698 a week earlier. There were 304 patients in intensive care.
The city-by-city report identified 110 communities in Massachusetts as at high risk for the virus, up from 153 last week; the full list can be found at the end of this article.
The positive test rate over the past two weeks has dropped in 271 – or 77.2 percent – of the 351 communities in the state. The rate rose in 50 – or 14.3 per cent – of the communities and remained stable in the remaining 30. The two-week confirmation confirmed that the numbers had risen in only 37 communities.
There were 38.5 average daily cases per 100,000 residents of the state during that period, compared to 48.9 last week.
To date, there have been 523,258 cases and 14,964 confirmed deaths across the country since the pandemic began. Officials estimate there were 50,344 active cases as of Thursday.
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Health officials say positive results from the coronavirus test should stay below 5 percent for two weeks or longer and preferably be closer to 2 percent so that states can ease restrictions. The number of communities reporting rates above 5 percent has dropped to 106, up from 154 last week.
Only two towns, Hancock and Tolland, scored positive test scores of more than 15 percent. Eighty-one reported test scores below 2 percent.
The state reported 110,792 new tests on Thursday, bringing the total to 14.6 million.
The data include coronavirus cases for all Massachusetts communities, except for those with populations below 50,000 and less than five cases. According to the department, the provision is designed to protect the privacy of patients in those cities.
The state announces test data from town to city every Thursday, including the number of people tested, the test rate, the positive test score, cases and infection rates.
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How to use this card: Zoom in on the map below and click on a pin to see the coronavirus case data of the community. You can also see the coronavirus data per city in the spreadsheet we used to create this map.
The map does not contain 1,464 cases of the state because state health officials could not determine in which communities the patients live.
Pin colors correspond to the state’s risk designations. Red pens are high-risk communities, or red. Yellow pens have an average risk, green pens with low risk and gray pens are at most 15 cases.
High-risk communities: Abington, Acushnet, Adams, Attleboro, Auburn, Avon, Ayer, Barnstable, Bellingham, Berkley, Blackstone, Boxford, Brewster, Bridgewater, Brockton, Carver, Chatham, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, Cohasset, Dartmouth, Dedham, Dennis, Dighton, Douglas, Dracut, East Bridgewater, Eastham, Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Foxborough, Freetown, Gardner, Georgetown, Great Barrington, Halifax, Hamilton, Hampden, Hanover, Hanson, Haverhill, Holbrook, Holyoke, Hudson, Hull , Lakeville, Lawrence, Leominster, Littleton, Lowell, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lynn, Malden, Marion, Marlborough, Marshfield, Methuen, Middleborough, Middleton, Monson, New Bedford, North Reading, Norwood, Orleans, Oxford, Palmer, Paxton, Peabody , Pembroke, Plainville, Plymouth, Quincy, Randolph, Raynham, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Rutland, Salisbury, Sandwich, Saugus, Seekonk, Shirley, Somerset, Southampton, Southborough, Southbridge, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Sterling, Sunderland, Sutton , Swansea, Taunton , Templeton, Townsend, Ware, Webster, West Bridgewater, West Brookfield, West Springfield, Westminster, Westport, Weymouth, Whitman and Winchendon.