COVID

Here are the 110 Mass. communities at highest risk for COVID-19 transmission

There are 43 fewer communities on the "red zone" list than last week.

By Arianna MacNeill

February 12, 2021

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The number of Massachusetts communities with the highest risk designation for coronavirus transmission continues to drop with 110 cities and towns making the state’s “red zone” list this week.

That’s 43 fewer cities and towns compared to last week and a major decrease from the end of January, when over 200 communities were on the list.

The state’s average daily case rate for the last two weeks is also on the decline. It currently sits at 38.5 cases per 100,000 residents, a yellow designation, compared to last week’s 48.9 cases per 100,000 residents on average for the prior two weeks, which placed the state in the red zone.

A community receives a red designation based on a few factors. Small communities with under 10,000 residents are placed in the red zone if they have more than 25 cases total over the last two weeks, according to the state. For communities between 10,000 and 50,000 people, a red zone designation is given if the community has 10 or more average cases per 100,000 residents and if the positivity rate is greater than or equal to 5 percent. For communities over 50,000, they need 10 or more cases per 100,000 residents and a positivity rate of 4 percent or higher.

Here’s a look at each of the cities and towns in the red zone this week. Communities are listed alphabetically; all of the state’s data can be found here.

• Abington
• Acushnet
• Adams
• Attleboro
• Auburn
• Avon
• Ayer
• Barnstable
• Bellingham
• Berkley
• Blackstone
• Boxford
• Brewster
• Bridgewater
• Brockton
• Carver
• Chatham
• Chelsea
• Chicopee
• Clinton
• Cohasset
• Dartmouth
• Dedham
• Dennis
• Dighton
• Douglas
• Dracut
• East Bridgewater
• Eastham
• Everett
• Fairhaven
• Fall River
• Foxborough
• Freetown
• Gardner 
• Georgetown
• Great Barrington
• Halifax
• Hamilton
• Hampden
• Hanover
• Hanson
• Haverhill
• Holbrook
• Holyoke
• Hudson
• Hull
• Lakeville
• Lawrence
• Leominster
• Littleton
• Lowell
• Ludlow
• Lunenburg
• Lynn
• Malden
• Marion
• Marlborough
• Marshfield
• Methuen
• Middleborough
• Middleton
• Monson
• New Bedford
• North Reading
• Norwood
• Orleans
• Oxford
• Palmer
• Paxton
• Peabody
• Pembroke
• Plainville
• Plymouth
• Quincy
• Randolph
• Raynham
• Revere
• Rochester
• Rockland
• Rutland
• Salisbury
• Sandwich
• Saugus
• Seekonk
• Shirley
• Somerset
• Southampton
• Southborough
• Southbridge
• Southwick
• Spencer
• Springfield
• Sterling
• Sunderland
• Sutton
• Swansea
• Taunton
• Templeton
• Townsend
• Ware
• Webster
• West Bridgewater
• West Brookfield
• West Springfield
• Westminster
• Westport
• Weymouth
• Whitman
• Winchendon