Braintree Positive Coronavirus Tests See Big Drop From Last Month

BRAINTREE, MA —Local cities and towns have been giving almost daily updates on local coronavirus cases since the outbreak began.

But for the past two months, the state Department of Public Health began releasing data on per capita coronavirus rates, offering a different perspective on how the virus is spreading at the local level. State officials also began releasing the percent of tests that came back positive at the town level.

Looking at the number of cases per 100,000 residents in a given town shows how far the virus has infiltrated the population.

On the South Shore, Quincy has the highest number of confirmed cases, but when the city's population of more than 92,000 is taken into account, its infection rate was lower than smaller towns like Braintree with a population of nearly 36,000 or Randolph with about 32,000 people.

As far as rates of positive tests, Braintree's downward trend has continued, especially since last month. From June 3 to Wednesday, the town's rate of positive tests dropped from 22.16 to 16.59 percent.

Here's a look at coronavirus rates for Braintree and other South Shore communities. See where Braintree ranks among them. These figures are from the state DPH and were calculated using case counts current as of July 1.