COVID-19 Infection Rate Up 2.5 Percent in Charlestown

Charlestown’s COVID-19 infection increased 2.5 percent last week but still remains well below the citywide average.

According to the latest Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) data released last Friday the neighborhood’s COVID infection rate went from 121 cases per 10,000 residents to 124.1 cases per 10,000 residents. The citywide average is 247.8 cases per 10,000 residents.

Last week the BPHC reported that 5,778 residents were tested for COVID-19 and 1.4 percent of those tested were COVID positive. The overall citywide average is 2 percent of those tested for the virus. The data shows that overall since the pandemic began only 4.3 percent of residents tested were found to be COVID positive.

Citywide positive cases of coronavirus rose nearly 3 percent  last week from 16,703 cases to   17,186 cases. So far 14,174 Boston residents have fully recovered from the virus and one additional resident died last week bringing the total of fatalities in the city to 762.

During his daily press briefing on the virus Friday, Mayor Martin Walsh said Boston’s positive test rate is at 2.7%, roughly level with the week before.

“Our daily average for new positive tests is 49, down slightly from the week before,” he said. “We have seen a slight increase in our hospitalization numbers, but it has not crossed our threshold for major concern. We are monitoring it carefully, and the City will continue to bring resources to where they are needed.”

The Mayor said we need everyone to remain vigilant with face coverings, hand washing, and social distancing to help keep the numbers under control.

“On Monday of this week, Boston Public Schools kicked off the new school year with online learning for all students,” said Walsh. “I want to remind everyone that the plan is to gradually introduce in-person learning starting with the highest need students, and the youngest students.”

The Mayor said the city will only move forward with in-person learning if the COVID-19 data stays within a certain threshold, and will only hold in-person learning if Boston’s positive test rate is below 4 percent.

“We will continue to monitor all data closely, and make adjustments if needed,” he said.

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