Updated: October 16, 2020
Central Mass. has 13 communities with worst coronavirus designation
Photo | Grant Welker
Marlborough City Hall
By Grant Welker
More than a dozen cities and towns in Central Massachusetts are now included in the state's highest-risk category in the coronavirus pandemic, including four whose positive coronavirus test rates nearly double the state average.
Framingham, Hudson, Marlborough and Webster all had rates of at least roughly 16 positive tests per 100,000 in the past two weeks, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. That far surpasses the statewide average of 8.7, which itself is high enough to land in the red, or highest-risk category.
Framingham had 186 new cases in the past two weeks, and Marlborough had 121, according to the state. In both instances, those cases put the cities at among the worst rates statewide.
Image | WBJ Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health
A total of 13 Central Massachusetts communities are in the state's red, or most severe, category for coronavirus cases, including Worcester, Framingham and Marlborough.
The red designation, in which positive results hit or exceed 8.0 per 100,000, also includes Worcester, Milford, Shrewsbury and Littleton, among others. The 13 Central Massachusetts communities that have reached that threshold is by far the highest since the Department of Public Health began using that system in the late summer. There were eight in the previous week, and four the week before that.
The City of Worcester's weekly total through Thursday was 137, giving Worcester a total of 6,687 cases so far. The city's weekly total has been roughly flat over the past month.
Across Worcester County, 374 new cases were reported in the past week through Wednesday, for a total of 15,238 cases since the pandemic began. Worcester County had seven new deaths to bring the total to 1,132.
Across Massachusetts, 4,215 new cases were reported in the past week, the highest such total since early June. That brings the state's case total so far to 138,083. Deaths across Massachusetts in the past week increased by 87 to hit 9,429 since the pandemic began.
The largest colleges in Central Massachusetts have continued to show relatively low positive case numbers, though Worcester State University reported 12 positive cases in the past week as of Thursday. Worcester Polytechnic Institute reported two positive tests in the week ending Friday, and Clark University had reported one in the past week through Thursday. The College of the Holy Cross last reported a positive test on Oct. 2, and Framingham State University last had a positive test on Sept. 29.
Nationally, cases have been rising since schools went back into session, with more than 65,000 new cases reported Thursday, according to a New York Times tally, the highest daily increase since late July. Total national cases are approaching 8 million, with more than 217,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Worldwide, cases have surpassed 39 million with almost 1.1 million deaths.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments