Beverly Coronavirus Cases Surge Higher In Latest State Report

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly coronavirus cases are once again on the rise, according to this week's state report.

While the city recorded more than 100 more new positive tests over a 14-day span compared to last week's report, Beverly did remain below the state's new threshold for being considered at "high risk" for community spread.

Beverly recorded 256 positive cases over the past 14 days, compared to 151 cases in the same span leading up to Dec. 3. The town's cases per 100,000 residents — the sole metric the state useduntil last month to determine whether cities and towns could move forward in reopening — jumped from 26.3 cases per 100,000 to 39.83 cases per 100,000 in that same span.

Until the state changed its formula one month ago, any community with greater than 8.0 cases per 100,000 people was considered "high risk."

Beverly's positive test rate rose from 1.98 percent to 3.45 percent.

"All the hospitals around the region, including Beverly Hospital, are seeing a significant and concerning increase in people needing to be hospitalized with COVID-19," Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill said in a message to the community. "So, while small numbers of vaccine are supposed to be coming soon for front line health care workers and residents and staff of long term care facilities, it will still take several months for vaccines to be available for us all. And that means we are going to need to keep being careful.

"Wearing a mask lessens the risk you will transmit or contract the virus, as the mask can prevent or limit the viral load that gets transmitted by an infectious person and received by someone who comes in contact with that person. Consequently, mask wearing can at best help prevent the spread of COVID-19 or, in cases where spread still occurs, mask wearing may lessen the amount of the virus that gets transmitted which can limit how sick someone might get, improving their prospects for full recovery.

"So please, wear a mask, keep your distance, and see other people outdoors as much as possible."

The latest town-by-town report labeled 158 Massachusetts communities as high risk for the virus, up from 97 last week.

The positive test rate over the last two weeks increased in 289 — or 82.3 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate fell in 38 — or 10.8 percent of — communities and held steady in the remaining 24.

There were 50 average daily cases per 100,000 residents of the state over that period, up from 35.7 last week.

More Patch Coverage: MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: Rates Rise In 82% Of Towns

Beverly Coronavirus Cases Stabilize In Latest State Report