Malden No Longer High Risk As COVID Numbers Drop 'Significantly'

MALDEN, MA — Malden fell out of the high-risk category for the coronavirus last week as the city's case count continues to trend downward. There were 74 cases between last Thursday and the previous week, a "significant" drop in cases, officials said.

The percentage of positive cases decreased to 3.30 percent, and Malden's average daily rate of cases is now 25.6 per 100,000 residents. Those figures were as high as 10 percent and 88.8 in mid-January.

Malden was labeled a "yellow" community for the first time since early November, when the state revised its threshold for labeling communities high risk. Before that, it had been considered a "red" community by the Department of Public Health.

Meanwhile, Malden was one of 20 communities exempted from the state's cutback of vaccines at the local level. Health officials said they are confirming that Malden will still be able to distribute the vaccine locally.

The Malden Health Department will announce a clinic for seniors to receive their second dose once enough vaccines are available.