Brookline Coronavirus Stats: Slight Uptick, But Still Low Risk

BROOKLINE, MA — The town stayed in the low-risk category in the latest city and town coronavirus report from the Massachusetts Department of Health Thursday — despite the fact that the number of coronavirus cases reported ticking slightly upward for the first time since January.

The town's positive test rate over the past two weeks was 0.70 percent, which was up from 0.54 percent the week before, according to the state report. Still, that puts it firmly in the low-risk, or green, category for the second week in a row.

Brookline has had 1,908 cases of the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, 80 of which were logged in the past two weeks ending on March 2. That's up from 67 reported during the two-week period prior, pushing the city's average daily incidence rate up to 8.8 from 7.4 per 100,000 residents.

>>MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: High-Risk List Falls Below 200

Only 19 Massachusetts cities and towns were labeled high-risk for the coronavirus Thursday in the latest town-by-town report. The majority of communities, 179, were labeled medium risk, or yellow. The remainder were marked gray or green, the lowest levels.

Massachusetts reported 1,410 coronavirus cases and 42 deaths Thursday.

The positive test rate during the past two weeks fell in 201 — or 57.3 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate rose in 84 — or 23.9 percent — of communities, including Brookline. It held steady in the remaining 66. Two-week confirmed case counts fell in 203 communities and rose in 102.