MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus: Statewide Death Rate Falls To 1.3

MASSACHUSETTS — Just four Massachusetts cities and towns have coronavirus positive test rates above 2 percent, according to the latest Department of Health town-by-town report. Nearly half of the state's 351 communities didn't report a single positive test over the past two weeks.

The weekly average death rate per 100,000 people fell to 1.3 cases, and there were 59.7 average daily cases.

But the state reported a slight rise in the positive test rate. The average positive rate rose from 0.31 to 0.37 percent.

The Department of Public Health reported 76 coronavirus cases, three deaths and 13,958 vaccine doses administered Thursday.

Vaccines

The latest vaccine report shows the number of residents who are fully vaccinated has risen to 4.217 million. Another 477,877 have received one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

More than 60 percent of the state's population is fully vaccinated, but some communities lag behind, according to state data. Twenty-five communities reported fewer than half their residents are even partially vaccinated. Compare that with the more than 90 percent of residents vaccinated in eight cities and towns.

For dozens of communities, up to 30 vaccinations may be missing from the data, as the state does not report totals for demographic subgroups with fewer than 30 vaccinated. No vaccination data is available for two communities with particularly low populations: Gosnold and Monroe.

Of the 9.61 million doses of vaccine the state has received, 89.8 percent have been given out.

How to use this map: Zoom in on the map below and click on a pin to see that community's coronavirus vaccination rates. You can also view the town-by-town coronavirus vaccination data in the spreadsheet we used to create this map.

Colors reflect the percentage of the population fully vaccinated, from under 50 percent, red, to more than 70 percent, green. The state did not report total vaccination numbers for gray communities. Some communities are grouped together for the purpose of vaccination data.

The map does not include 987 of the state's cases because state health officials could not determine which communities the patients lived in.

Other Key Coronavirus Metrics

The weekly average death rate was 1.3 per day. There were 59.7 average daily new cases.

The seven-day average number of hospitalized patients was 100, down from 104 a week prior. There were 29 patients in intensive care.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks fell in 102 — or 29.1 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate rose in 63 — or 18 percent — of the communities. It held steady in the remaining 186.

Only five communities reported positive test rates higher than 2 percent during the past two weeks: Colrain, Hardwick, Sheffield and Heath.

There was 1 average daily case per 100,000 residents of the state during that period, down from 1.2 the week before.

To date, there have been 663,898 cases and 17,63322 deaths statewide since the pandemic began.

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The state reported 30,384 new tests Thursday, bringing the total administered to 23.9 million.

The data includes coronavirus cases for all Massachusetts communities, except for those with populations under 50,000 and where there are fewer than five cases. The department said the stipulation was designed to protect the privacy of patients in those towns and cities.

The state releases town-by-town testing data every Thursday, including the number of people tested, the testing rate, the positive test rate, cases and infection rates.

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