BOSTON (WHDH) - A recent spike in coronavirus cases has put 63 Massachusetts communities at high risk, halting them from entering Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan.
The Mass. Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that 27 communities and towns had been moved to the red zone after their average daily case rate over the last 14 days was greater than 8 per 100,000 residents. This raised the total of high-risk communities to 63.
State health officials added that the statewide average daily case rate is in the red zone at 8.7 per 100,000 residents.
Boston is one of the communities considered high risk.
The city’s teachers union filed a lawsuit in an attempt to force the district to go entirely remote until coronavirus numbers go down; however, a Suffolk Superior Court judge struck down the injunction.
Educators teaching the highest-need students in-person will have to continue returning to school per this ruling.
Under a mutual agreement between the city and its teachers, Boston Public Schools are supposed to switch to a remote learning model when the COVID-19 positivity rate rises above 4 percent. Last week, the positivity rate for Boston jumped to 4.1 percent and is now up to 4.4 percent.
The city argued that teachers agreed to return as long as the Boston Public Health Commission deemed it safe.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh praised the ruling, but the Boston Teachers Union says they plan to keep negotiating with the city.
“The position of the Boston Teachers Union is not to attempt to deprive any student of service; rather, we are trying to make sure that everything’s done safely in a way that everybody can get an education without getting ill or risking themselves,” attorney Jamie Goodwin said.
The state reported 16 new coronavirus deaths Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 9,429 with 138,083 confirmed cases.
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