Stoughton's Coronavirus Rate Rises, Town Upgraded To 'Yellow'

STOUGHTON, MA — About a third of Massachusetts communities, including Stoughton, had rising coronavirus test rates over the last two weeks, according to new town-by-town data released by the state Wednesday.

The state upgraded Stoughton's coronavirus threat level by deeming it a "yellow" community, a designation given to cities and towns that average four to eight cases per 100,000 people daily.

The latest data showed the positive test rate over the last two weeks increased in 116— or 33 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate fell in 88, or 25.1 percent of communities, and held steady in the remaining 147.

Stoughton's case count over the last 14 days was 16, bringing the total number of cases to 661, according to state data. The town has conducted 1,372 tests over the past two weeks, 21 of which came back positive. There have been 11,195 tests conducted overall in Stoughton.

The town's percent positive rate over the last two weeks rose to 1.53 percent. Health officials say positive test results need to stay below 5 percent for two weeks or longer and, preferably, be closer to 2 percent, for states to safely ease restrictions. Four towns remained above that 5 percent positive threshold.

View the state's interactive COVID-19 map.