Ten days after Mayor Michelle Wu and the city implemented the ‘B Together” mandate that requires all employees and patrons at indoor venues to show proof of vaccination, Charlestown’s weekly COVID 19 positive test rate has dipped for the second week in a row.
The COVID winter surge has wreaked havoc on the city and affected school attendance for both staff and students, closed local business due to staff shortages and put a strain on emergency rooms at area hospitals.
Two weeks ago nearly 3 Out of every 10 residents tested for the virus last week turned out to be positive but that number has dropped.
According to the weekly report released Monday by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), 783 Charlestown residents were tested and 22.1 percent were found to be positive–this was a 21 percent decrease from the 28 percent that tested positive between January 10 and January 17. So far the weekly positive test rate has decreased 25.5 percent week over week since January 10.
One hundred seventy three additional Charlestown residents tested positive for the virus last week and the number of positive cases increased to 3,216 overall since the start of the pandemic.
The citywide weekly positive test rate also decreased last week. According to the BPHC 30,644 residents were tested and 24 percent were COVID positive–this was a 24 percent decrease from the 31.6 percent that reportedly tested positive for the week ending on January 17. The weekly positive test rate has now decreased 25 percent in Boston since January 10.
The statistics released by the BPHC as part of its weekly COVID19 report breaks down the number of cases and infection rates in each neighborhood. It also breaks down the number of cases by age, gender and race.
Citywide positive cases of coronavirus increased 9 percent last week and went from 141,491 cases to 154,692 confirmed cases in a week.
However, there were 53 additional deaths in Boston from the virus in the past week and the total COVID deaths is now at 1,607. Deaths, which totaled 19 two weeks ago over the course of that week, increased 179 percent last week.