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Last week (Oct. 30) there were around 30 red cities and towns in central and western Massachusetts.
In this reporting period (Nov. 6), there are 3: Fitchburg, Ludlow, and Springfield.
Baker cited the influence the state’s reporting has on whether a community’s schools offer in-person, a hybrid, or distance learning. The governor has said that too many schools have been making the switch to distance learning even when the risk did not warrant that decision because of the influence of the data provided by the state.
This also means there are fewer so-called “red” communities in Massachusetts- places where the risk of infection is highest.
Last week, Thursday, Oct. 30, there were 122 red municipalities.
This week, there are 16, according to the most recent data, Nov. 6.
Being a red community doesn’t mean what it used to.
Under the stat’s new system of reporting local COVID-19 rates, the size of a community is considered. There are three community sizes: small (population under 10,000 people), medium (population 10,000-50,000), and large (population over 50,000). Previously, any community regardless of size was red if it had an average daily new case rate of 19 or more or an infection rate of at least 8 per 100,000 people.
To be a red city or town, a small community must have 25 or more total cases; a medium community must have an average of more than 10 cases per 100,000 people or a positive COVID-19 test rate of 5 percent or more; for large communities, they must have an average case rate of more than 10 cases per 100,000 people and a positive test rate that is 4 percent or higher.
Here are the 16 red communities according to Massachusetts’ most recent weekly data report, Friday, Nov. 6. Alongside the community is the average daily incident rate per 100,000 people over the last 14 days. Communities in western and central Massachusetts are in bold:
Brockton - 24.1
Chelsea - 45.1
Everett - 36
Fall River - 41.8
Fitchburg - 39.2
Lawrence - 62.4
Ludlow - 27.7
Lynn - 34.4
Methuen - 27.5
New Bedford - 28.4
Norfolk - 48
Revere - 44.3
Seekonk - 28.5
Somerset - 35.9
Springfield - 24.6
Westport - 35.
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