Marlborough Sees Coronavirus 'Lull,' But Deaths Jump To 30

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Marlborough may be experiencing a slowdown in coronavirus cases, the city's lead health official said Thursday — but those comments came the day after the city saw its biggest one-day increase in coronavirus deaths.

In a news conference on Thursday, public health director John Garside said that the average number of new cases in the city has been trending down recently. The number of active cases has also been dropping.

"We're in a lull here and I think our social distancing measures have helped," Garside said during the news conference.

Active cases hit a peak of 285 on May 10, and have been dropping from there. There were 265 active cases as of Thursday.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus deaths in Marlborough jumped from 22 to 30 on Wednesday — the largest one-day increase the city has seen since the outbreak began locally. No new deaths were reported on Thursday.

Mayor Arthur Vigeant spoke on Thursday about a path to reopening Marlborough. He said the city will be following guidelines set forth by Gov. Charlie Baker, who has set May 18 as the date Massachusetts will begin to reopen. But aside from an outline of a phased-reopening plan, he has released few details.

Vigeant said the city may look to reopen some park spaces in the city within the next week, but businesses might have to wait a little longer. Marlborough has closed schools and all playgrounds in the city.

"My haircut's almost as long as it was in high school at this point," Vigeant said, referring to a desire to get back to business as usual. "Going out and having a coffee or beer after work, we're all looking to get back to normal."