Tewksbury Coronavirus Positive Rate Rises Past 3.5 Percent

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury's coronavirus metrics continue to rise dramatically, even as the vaccination drive shows significant progress, according to the latest town-by-town reports from the state.

The town's positive test rate over the last two weeks was 3.66 percent, up more than a percentage point from 2.62 in last week's report. The town had 142 cases in that period, up from 99 last week.

But the latest vaccine report, with data through Tuesday, is promising: one-quarter of the town's residents have been fully vaccinated. Forty-two percent have received at least one dose, including over 80 percent of residents over 65.

>>Town-By-Town Coronavirus: 77 High-Risk, But Positive Rate Falls

Massachusetts reported a growing number of high-risk communities in the latest town-by-town report Thursday, but statewide metrics including the positive rate fell over the last week.

The Department of Public Health labeled 77 communities as high risk for the coronavirus, up from 55 in the previous report. The risk classifications are based on two weeks of data. 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 to 2.29 percent, from 2.60 percent a week prior. The weekly average case rate and death rate also fell.

The latest vaccine report shows the number of Massachusetts residents who are fully vaccinated has risen to 1.62 million. Another 1.1 million have received one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

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