13 Massachusetts communities now at high risk for coronavirus

BOSTON (WHDH) - Thirteen Massachusetts communities are now at high risk for coronavirus, a slight increase over last week, according to new public health data.

The Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported five new cities and towns that are at high risk for COVID-19 infections. There are now 13 communities that are shaded in red on the state’s COVID-19 map, which indicates they have had at least 8 new daily coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks.

Chatham, Chelsea, Dedham, Everett, Framingham, Lawrence, Lynn, Lynnfield, Methuen, Monson, New Bedford, Revere, and Winthrop are all now considered high-risk communities, according to state health officials.

Chelsea, Lawrence, and Revere have the highest daily incidence rate per 100,000 people with 25.4, 20.5, and 18.5, respectively.

Dozens of other communities, including Worcester, Saugus, Salem, Malden, and Rockland, are shaded in yellow and listed in the state’s moderate-risk category.

More than 80 other communities are shaded in green, meaning the rate of COVID-19 infection is less than four daily cases per 100,000 residents.

All of the other cities and towns across the Bay State are shaded in white, indicating five or fewer total reported cases in the last 14 days.

Playgrounds and public courts have been closed until further notice in Everett as the city deals with the uptick in coronavirus cases.

Baker announced last week that the state would be ramping up its efforts to reverse “dangerously high” COVID-19 transmission rates in Lynn, Revere, Lawrence, Everett, and Chelsea. Framingham is slated to be added to the list this week.

Nearly 350 businesses across Massachusetts, including restaurants and barbershops, were recently found to be violation of the state’s COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been total of 121,396 confirmed cases and 8,937 deaths.

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