Brookline's Coronavirus Risk Level Rises To Moderate

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline health officials are asking residents to be vigilant against the spread of the coronavirus after the state designated the community at moderate risk for the spread of the virus.

"The town has reached a moderate risk level and there were still 60 new cases of COVID-19 in the first three days of this week," Health Commissioner Dr. Swannie Jett said. "Residents need to be extremely vigilant in protecting themselves and their loved ones against COVID-19, and should be mindful that numbers statewide are as consistently high as they've been since the pandemic started."

The average daily incidence rate for Brookline is 13.24 per 100,000 residents, up from 9.7 last week, according to weekly public health data released Thursday.

Read more: MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: Rates Rise In 82% Of Towns

That moved Brookline from a "green," or low risk community to "yellow" indicating a moderate risk of spread in the community.

During the past two weeks some 12,142 people have been tested for the coronavirus in Brookline and of those 120 people have tested positive, bringing the number of cases in Brookline to 891 since the start of the pandemic.

Statewide there were 5,130 coronavirus cases and 41 deaths Thursday. On Wednesday, the state reported 89 deaths, the most since the beginning of June. The seven-day average of hospitalized patients increased to 1,498, up from 1,210 a week prior. There were 307 patients in intensive care Thursday.

Although Brookline's positive rate rose to 1.12 percent during the two-week period ending Dec. 8, it was among just 54 communities that had positive rates below 2 percent.

Health officials say positive coronavirus test results need to stay below 5 percent for two weeks or longer and, preferably, be closer to 2 percent, for states to safely ease restrictions.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.