Why Framingham Is Back On 'High-Risk' Coronavirus List

FRAMINGHAM, MA — After a two-week hiatus, Framingham is back on the state Department of Public Health's (DPH) list of communities in Massachusetts considered high-risk for coronavirus.

So, what happened?

In the first week of November, DPH changed the way it measures coronavirus risk in individual cities and towns. Prior to that, the state was just using the rate of cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period. Any community with a rate of more than 8 new cases per day per 100,000 earned a spot on the list.

The Nov. 6 change added positive test results to the mix. Now, a city of Framingham's size — about 71,000 — needs to have more than 10 cases per day per 100,000 people over a two-week period and a positive test rate above 4 percent to be considered a red high-risk community.

Framingham was above both those thresholds this week. Framingham's rate of new cases per 100,000 is now 34.6 — a recent high — and the positive test rate is at 4.36 percent. One week ago, the new daily case rate was at 23.1 per 100,000, and the positive test rate was 3.24 percent.

Framingham is not alone. There are now 62 cities and towns rated as high-risk, about double compared to the Nov. 12 statewide report. Here's the full list:

Abington, Acushnet, Attleboro, Barnstable, Blackstone, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, Dartmouth, Dighton, Douglas, Dracut, Edgartown, Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Fitchburg, Freetown, Hampden, Holyoke, Lancaster, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lynn, Malden, Marion, Methuen, Milford, Nantucket, New Bedford, Norfolk, Northbridge, Peabody, Rehoboth, Revere, Rockland, Salisbury, Saugus, Seekonk, Shirley, Somerset, Southbridge, Southwick, Springfield, Sterling, Sutton, Swansea, Taunton, Templeton, Tisbury, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Uxbridge, West Springfield, Westport, Winchendon and Woburn.