BOSTON (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Department of Public Health released an updated list Thursday detailing the number of coronavirus cases in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
In an attempt to guide schools and businesses through the state’s phased reopening plan, the colors were previously based on an area’s average virus rate out of 100,000 people.
However, many communities across the Bay State do not reach the 100,000 resident threshold.
This prompted health officials to revamp the color-coding system last week based on population size and positivity rate.
The statewide average daily case rate is in the yellow zone this week at 20.7 per 100,000 residents with 20,197 new cases reported in the last 14 days.
Thirty cities and towns now fall in the Department of Public Health’s highest-risk category for COVID-19 transmission under the state’s new guidelines. Up from the 16 that were reported last week.
The high-risk communities include Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, Dighton, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Freetown, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Marion, Methuen, Milford, New Bedford, Norfolk, Plainville, Revere, Seekonk, Shirley, Somerset, Springfield, Swansea, Tisbury, Uxbridge, Westport, and West Springfield.
On Oct. 22, state health officials started designating the coronavirus clusters in locations such as jails, colleges, and nursing homes that have pushed communities into the high-risk zone.
This week no municipalities were given this designation.
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The Department of Public Health also began releasing information on the number of cases and contacts associated with clusters of infection in certain settings including households, organized sports, retail settings and social gatherings.
The average age of COVID-19 patients is 38-years old according to the report with the 20 to 29-year-old age range reporting the highest amount of cases.
Since last week, 566 more college students have tested positive bringing the total number of cases associated with higher education to 2,511.
Below is a full town-by-town breakdown where data for all 351 communities is included.
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The report states that 107,158 people have completed their quarantine to date and 6,952 are still undergoing theirs.
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