Newton Coronavirus Cases Steady, Positivity Rate Low

NEWTON, MA — The number of people who have contracted the coronavirus in Newton is staying almost steady: Some 776 people have tested positive, including three more than last week, according to state data through July 14. And when you look at how many people in Newton have taken a test to see if they have the virus compared with how many times the tests have come back positive, the results are low.

"The low positivity rate does tell us that most Newton residents who are tested do not test positive, which is good news and not surprising given trends in data we have been observing in Massachusetts," said Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller in a statement.

After three straight weeks of the number of those who died related to the virus stayed at 118, one more person died last week, bringing the number of residents to die to 119.

Statewide, there were 142 new reports of people testing positive for the virus and 27 deaths Wednesday. Since the first reported death March 20, there have been 8,152 coronavirus-related deaths across Massachusetts.

The data shows the positive test rate — the number of people who test positive among those who are tested — increased in 65 of the 351 Massachusetts communities. It was only the second week the state Department of Public Health released the positive test rate for the previous two weeks for every town and city in the state.

For the past two weeks, less than 1 percent of Newton residents who took the test, tested positive for the virus. The statewide rate is 1.91 percent, which means a lower rate of people are testing positive in Newton as compared to statewide.

Florida is at 18.7 percent. Arizona is the highest state in the country at 24.7 percent. Cities tend to see higher rates. Miami is now reporting a rate of 30.5 percent.

Fuller said the higher rates of positivity in other states and communities pointed to more needing to be done.

"Stay vigilant," she said. "We all need to continue what we’ve been doing – wear face coverings inside and outside when you can’t physically distance from others by staying 6 feet apart, wash [your] hands and stay home if [you're] not feeling well."

Previously: No New Coronavirus-Related Deaths In Newton For Third Week In A Row...