The number of Massachusetts communities with the highest risk rating for coronavirus transmission continues to decline with 110 cities and towns making the state’s “red zone” list this week.
This is 43 fewer cities and towns compared to last week and a large decrease from the end of January, then more than 200 communities was on the list.
The state’s average daily business rate for the past two weeks is also declining. It currently stands at 38.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a yellow designation compared to the 48.9 cases last week averaging 100,000 inhabitants for the previous two weeks, which the state placed in the red zone.
A community receives a red label based on several factors. Small communities with less than 10,000 inhabitants are placed in the red zone, according to the state, if they have more than 25 cases in the past two weeks. For communities between 10,000 and 50,000 people, a red zone is indicated if the community has ten or more cases per 100,000 inhabitants and if the positivity rate is greater than or equal to 5 percent. For communities older than 50,000, they need 10 or more cases per 100,000 residents and a positive percentage of 4 percent or higher.
Here’s a look at each of the cities and towns in the red zone this week. Communities are listed alphabetically; all state data can be found here.
- Abington
- Acushnet
- Adams
- Attleboro
- Auburn
- Avon
- Ayer
- Barnstable
- Bellingham
- Berkley
- Black stone
- Boxford
- Brewster
- Bridgewater
- Brockton
- Kerwer
- Chatham
- Chelsea
- Chicopee
- Clinton
- Cohasset
- Dartmouth
- Dedham
- Dennis
- Dighton
- Douglas
- Dracut
- East Bridgewater
- Eastham
- Everett
- Fairhaven
- Val River
- Foxborough
- Freetown
- Gardner
- Georgetown
- Great Barrington
- Halifax
- Hamilton
- Hampden
- Hannover
- Hanson
- Haverhill
- Holbrook
- Holyoke
- Hudson
- Hull
- Lakeville
- Lawrence
- Leominster
- Littleton
- Lowell
- Ludlow
- Lunenburg
- Lynn
- Malden
- Marion
- Marlborough
- Marshfield
- Methuen
- Middleborough
- Middleton
- Monsoon
- New bedford
- North reading
- Norwood
- Orleans
- Oxford
- Palmer
- Paxton
- Peabody
- Pembroke
- Plainville
- Plymouth
- Quincy
- Randolph
- Raynham
- Reversal
- Rochester
- Rockland
- Rutland
- Salisbury
- Sandwich
- Saugus
- Seekonk
- Shirley
- Somerset
- Southampton
- Southborough
- Southbridge
- Southwick
- Spencer
- Springfield
- Sterling
- Sunderland
- Sutton
- Swansea
- Taunton
- Templeton
- Townsend
- True
- Webster
- West bridgewater
- West brookfield
- West springfield
- Westminster
- Westport
- Weymouth
- Whitman
- Winchendon
Get Boston.com’s email alerts:
Subscribe and receive coronavirus news and recent updates, from our newsroom to your inbox.