Easton Now A Coronavirus Red Zone

EASTON, MA—Easton has been designated a coronavirus "red zone" as of Thursday due to a surge in positive cases locally and statewide.

The town's status as a "red zone" means that is at the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission and has had at least 10 average daily cases per 10,000 residents and a 5% positivity rate.

The latest statistics released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Thursday reveal that there have been 721 confirmed COVID-19 case in Easton, with 133 reported in the two weeks before Dec. 17. Easton currently has an average daily incidence rate of 40.0 and a positivity rate of 5.77%, an increase from last week's average daily incidence rate of 25.87 and positivity rate of 3.33%.

Easton's sustained uptick in COVID-19 cases comes during a statewide increase in cases, with 178 communities at high risk for virus transmission as of Thursday. The state reported 4,985 new cases and 44 new deaths on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 297,301 and the total number of deaths among confirmed cases to 11,305.