HAVERHILL, MASS. (WHDH) - State health officials are categorizing even more areas as “high-risk” for COVID-19 as several communities in Massachusetts see a spike in coronavirus cases.
Based on newly released data, the list of communities that cannot move forward to Phase III, Step II at this time are: Attleboro, Avon, Boston, Chelsea, Dedham, Dracut, Everett, Framingham, Haverhill, Holliston, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Marlborough, Methuen, Middleton, Monson, Nantucket, New Bedford, North Andover, Plainville, Revere, Saugus, Springfield, Tyngsborough, Winthrop, Worcester, and Wrentham.
Leon Kayserian owns Chez Leon Tailoring & Cleaners right across from Merrimack College in North Andover, where nearly a hundred students have tested positive. He said these recent developments have him concerned about his bottom line.
“Scary. For me and my family,” Kayserian said. He not only fears for the health of his business but also that of his family. “Of course my own health and I have grandchildren, don’t want them to get it.”
Middleton is another community that made the jump from moderate to high-risk this week.
Town administrators said the cluster there started in one jail ward. Now, it has spread to three wards in the facility, where 14 to 15 inmates are said to have tested positive.
“There’s not a reason for concern in the community,” Town Administrator Andy Sheehan said. “The prison population is completely segregated from the at-large population.”
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In the meantime, 58 people have been infected at the Lakeview Nursing home in Haverhill — that number includes both residents and staff.
That outbreak, along with 18 other active cases from a gathering at a house of worship and three athletes on a local team, has pushed Haverhill into the red as well.
“We are going to put high risk and medium risk sports on a 3-week hiatus and hope after that we can get them back to the sports them love but right now we need to take extra precautions,” Mayor Jim Fiorentini said.
There is a concern now that friends and relatives of those in the two active clusters will also get infected.
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