Health

DPH: 40 communities now considered high-risk zones for COVID-19

BOSTON — New COVID-19 health data issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday, Oct. 7 shows more communities in the state are now considered at high risk for COVID-19.

Since last week, 19 more communities have been added to the high-risk category. Communities considered “red zones” for COVID-19 last week were not allowed to move on to Phase 3, Step 2 in the state’s reopening plan.

The City of Boston, now registering an increase of 972 new cases within the last 14 days, has entered its second week of being considered a red zone.

>>>MORE: Boston delays further reopening; mayor cites house parties

As of right now, only 311 cities and towns are not considered at high risk for the novel coronavirus. The news comes on the first week of October, a month where many anticipate celebrating Halloween. This year, however, trick-or-treating will be different depending on where you live, where some towns have taken the precautionary measures of canceling the event weeks before Oct. 31.

Currently, the following towns are considered high risk for coronavirus: Acushnet

Amherst, Attleboro, Avon, Boston, Brockton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Dartmouth, Dracut, Dudley, Everett, Framingham, Haverhill, Holyoke, Hudson, Kingston, Lawrence, Leicester, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Marlborough, Methuen, Middleton, Nantucket, New Bedford, North Andover, Plymouth, Randolph, Revere, Southborough, Southbridge, Springfield, Sunderland, Waltham, Webster, Winthrop, Woburn and Worcester.

In the state as a whole, there has now been a total of 133,868 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 509 newly reported Wednesday. An additional 19 new deaths bring the death toll to 9,342 people who died with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

According to this week’s report, the average age of COVID-19 cases for the past two weeks is 36, while the average age of total cases hospitalized is 65. When it comes to fatalities, the average age of deaths in COVID-19 cases in last 2 weeks is 79.

There are 211 new confirmed COVID-19 cases associated with higher education testing since last week, brining that total up to 1,058.

The state’s town-level data is now available in an interactive map. You can explore the data in more detail below or view a full-screen version here:

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