Town-by-town COVID-19 map shows 97 cities and towns considered ‘high-risk’ one week after Thanksgiving

BOSTON — Exactly one week after Thanksgiving, state officials announced 97 cities and towns are considered “high-risk” for COVID-19 as the number of new cases in the state broke a single-day record in Massachusetts on Thursday, the same day the state released new town-by-town COVID-19 data.

That’s 18 more Massachusetts communities that have entered the “red zone” for coronavirus. That means these cities and towns are at higher risk of contracting the virus than anywhere else in the state, as new infections and hospitalizations have been increasing statewide over the past week.

New COVID-19 health data released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Thursday, Dec. 3 highlighted the significant recent increase in COVID-19 cases and infection rates throughout the state.

Also this week, 139 communities were designated as being “yellow zones,” which means they’re not at as much risk as red towns, but are still being monitored as moderate risk for their higher-than-ideal infection rates. Last week, 143 communities were considered at moderate risk, which means Massachusetts saw four fewer cities and towns added to that list this week.

The risk measurement system for cities and towns in Massachusetts raises the cases required per 100,000 threshold for the “red” designation while adding variables for community size and positive test rate.

The system breaks down cities and towns into three categories based on population: those with fewer than 10,000 residents, those with between 10,000 and 50,000 residents, and those with more than 50,000 residents.

The criteria for labeling towns has changed to include gray, along with the existing red, yellow and green designations of how prevalent cases of the virus are in any given city or town.

Towns and cities in red this week include: Abington, Acushnet, Attleboro, Barnstable, Bellingham, Berkley, Billerica, Blackstone, Boxford, Brockton, Charlton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, Dartmouth, Dighton, Douglas, Dracut, Edgartown, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Freetown, Gardner, Georgetown, Granby, Hampden, Hanover, Haverhill, Holden, Holyoke, Hopedale, Hudson, Lancaster, Lawrence, Leicester, Lenox, Leominster, Littleton, Lowell, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lynn, Malden, Marion, Mendon, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, Milford, Millbury, Monson, New Bedford, Newbury, Norfolk, North Attleboro, North Brookfield, Palmer, Paxton, Peabody, Pittsfield, Plainville, Randolph, Rehoboth, Revere, Rutland, Salisbury, Saugus, Seekonk, Shirley, Somerset, Southborough, Southbridge, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Sterling, Stoneham, Stoughton, Sturbridge, Sutton, Swansea, Taunton, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Upton, Uxbridge, Wareham, Wenham, West Boylston, West Springfield, Westport, Whitman, Wilmington and Woburn.

Communities that are considered at moderate risk are: Acton, Agawam, Amesbury, Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Ashburnham, Ashland, Athol, Auburn, Ayer, Bedford, Belchertown, Belmont, Berlin, Beverly, Boston, Bourne, Boxborough, Boylston, Braintree, Bridgewater, Burlington, Cambridge, Canton, Carver, Cohasset, Concord, Dalton, Danvers, Dedham, Dennis, Dover, Dudley, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Easton, Fairhaven, Falmouth, Foxborough, Franklin, Gloucester, Grafton, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Groton, Groveland, Halifax, Hamilton, Hanson, Harwich, Hingham, Holbrook, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hull, Ipswich, Kingston, Lakeville, Lanesborough, Longmeadow, Lynnfield, Manchester, Mansfield, Marblehead, Marlborough, Marshfield, Mashpee, Mattapoisett, Maynard, Medfield, Medford, Medway, Melrose, Middleborough, Millis, Milton, Nantucket, Natick, Needham, Newburyport, Newton, North Adams, North Andover, North Reading, Northampton, Northborough, Northbridge, Norton, Norwell, Norwood, Oak Bluffs, Oxford, Pembroke, Pepperell, Plymouth, Princeton, Quincy, Raynham, Reading, Rochester, Rockland, Salem, Scituate, Sharon, Shrewsbury, Somerville, South Hadley, Stow, Swampscott, Templeton, Tisbury, Topsfield, Townsend, Wakefield, Walpole, Waltham, Ware, Watertown, Webster, Wellesley, West Bridgewater, Westborough, Westfield, Westford, Westminster, Weston, Westwood, Weymouth, Wilbraham, Winchendon, Winchester, Winthrop, Worcester, Wrentham and Yarmouth.

As of Dec. 3, a total of 123,052 people have undergone a quarantine period (but are no longer subject to quarantining) and a total of 10,018 people are currently being monitored and undergoing quarantine. So far, 133,070 Massachusetts residents in total have been subject to quarantine since the outbreak began locally.

Officials have been concerned about an increase in cases following the Thanksgiving holiday where friends and family tend to gather in close proximity. Gov. Charlie Baker, among other local leaders, was firm with his warning for residents not to travel or hold large gatherings in efforts to help flatten the curve.

The increase in cases and hospitalizations this week reflects that concern, as the state has seen an increase in new cases and deaths among people with confirmed cases of the virus. About one month ago, on Nov. 6, there were far fewer communities in the red across Massachusetts, as seen in the map shown above.

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According to the new town-by-town data, the average age of COVID-19 cases is 40, but the average age of cases that were hospitalized was 68. The average age of deaths among confirmed COVID-19 cases is 81 - a number that remains unchanged from the previous week.

Across the state as a whole, there have now been a total of 232,264 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 6,477 newly reported Thursday. An additional 49 new deaths bring the death toll to 10,637 people who died with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Those numbers include 680 cases tested by one Massachusetts-based laboratory prior to Dec. 1. However, even by subtracting those 680 cases, Thursday’s daily total number of cases actually reported in a single day in Massachusetts was the highest its ever been. The delay in reporting was caused by a technical issue with the software used by that laboratory’s reporting vendor, the state said in its report.

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The average positivity rate has also jumped significantly, going from 4.94% Wednesday to 5.29% on Thursday. Currently, 1,324 patients are hospitalized due to COVID-19, where 261 are in the intensive care unit and 137 are intubated.

The state estimates there are about 49,225 active cases of the virus in Massachusetts.

Since last week, 481 new COVID-19 cases have been reported among higher education testing since last week, bringing the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases associated with higher education to 4,463.

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