COVID

26 Mass. communities have the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission

There were 48 cities and towns that made the list last week.

By Arianna MacNeill

April 29, 2021

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There are now just 26 Massachusetts communities that have the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission, according to newly released state data.

This is a decrease of about 50 percent – there were 48 cities and towns that made the list last week.

The color-coded map showing the COVID-19 transmission risk for each community.

A community receives a red-zone 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 daily 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 a daily average of 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 communities in the red zone, listed alphabetically:

• Acushnet
• Berkley
• Brockton
• Chicopee
• Dracut
• Edgartown
• Fall River
• Hampden
• Haverhill
• Lawrence
• Littleton
• Lowell
• Lynn
• Methuen
• Nantucket
• New Bedford
• Palmer
• Revere
• Southbridge
• Southwick
• Springfield
• Taunton
• Tisbury
• Wareham
• Winchendon
• Yarmouth