North Andover Coronavirus Positive Rate Drops Back Below 1%

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover continued to report promising coronavirus trends Thursday in the latest town-by-town report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, with the positive test rate falling below 1 percent.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks was 0.93 percent, down from 1.14 percent in last week's report. But the case count rose from 121 to 134.

As of Tuesday, the town reported 72 active cases. North Andover has reported 2,844 total cases and 87 deaths.

>>MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: Declines Across All Metrics

Statewide metrics were also promising. Massachusetts reported declines across all coronavirus metrics Thursday, with both the statewide positive test rate and the number of high-risk communities falling.

The Department of Public Health labeled 59 communities as high risk for the coronavirus, down from 77 in the previous report. The full list of high-risk communities is available at the end of this article.

The seven-day average positive test rate for the state fell from 2.43 percent last week to 2.3 percent. The weekly average case rate, hospitalization and death rate also fell.

The seven-day average death rate of 8.1 is the lowest on record.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.