North Andover Drops Out Of High-Risk Category

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover fell out of the high-risk category in the latest Massachusetts Department of Health city and town coronavirus report Thursday.

The town's positive test rate over the last two weeks was just 4.7 percent, down from 5.5 percent last week, according to the state report. That put it in the moderate-risk, or yellow, category.

North Andover had just 148 active coronavirus cases Thursday, down from 171 a week before.

>>MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: High-Risk List Falls Below 200

North Andover was one of the dozens of cities and towns that were removed from the high-risk category Thursday, amid a multi-week decline in coronavirus rates across the state.

The seven-day average positive test rate for the state fell to 4.44 percent, down a percentage point over the last week. Statewide case counts, hospitalizations and deaths also all fell over the last week, although all measures remained far above the lows over the summer.

North Andover had 235 cases over the last two weeks, or 55 average daily cases per 100,000 residents, versus 271 cases in last week's report.

According to the latest town report, 2,036 residents have tested positive for the virus and 78 have died.

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