Milford Back On State High-Risk List For Coronavirus

MILFORD, MA — Milford is one of 30 communities across Massachusetts that have been deemed high-risk for coronavirus by state health officials, a designation that comes after the state made its guidelines more strict last week.

Milford made the high-risk list because the town was adding more than 30 new cases per day per 100,000 residents, and because the positive test rate was at 5.85 percent over the last two weeks. The town needs to drop below 10 new cases per 100,000 and a 5 percent positive test rate to be able to leave the high-risk list.

Milford was first deemed a high-risk community in mid-October. But on Nov. 5, the state introduced new metrics to determine whether a community is high-risk, and Milford came off the list.

In a weekly update released Nov. 10, Health Director Jacquelyn Murphy said the town is continuing to educate residents about wearing masks, limits on social gatherings and Gov. Charlie Baker's guidance that residents should stay indoors between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The town has issued four citations recently over violations pandemic safety rules, Murphy has said.

Other nearby towns on the high-risk list include Uxbridge and Norfolk, which has a high infection rate due to an outbreak at the state prison.