Milford Joins State's Coronavirus 'High-Risk' List

MILFORD, MA — On Wednesday, Milford was one of 23 communities added to the state's "high-risk" map of communities where coronavirus cases are growing at high rates.

The town joined the list because new cases have been growing at 8.3 per day over the last two weeks (per 100,000 people). Any community above 8 gets added to the list.

But Milford's addition to the list may not come as a surprise. One week ago, Milford was seeing 7.8 new cases per day per 100,000 people over the last 14 days. That's up sharply from the 5.4 new cases per day reported on Sept. 30.

Milford has seen about 34 new coronavirus cases over the last 14 days, according to state figures. The 14-day positive test rate was holding steady at 1.85 percent, higher than the statewide rate of 1.17 percent.

There are now 63 communities on the high-risk list, including Holliston, Framingham, Southborough, Marlborough and Hudson.

With coronavirus cases clearly rising across the state, Gov. Charlie Baker is not signaling another shutdown yet. He held a press conference on Tuesday and said the state is well-prepared to face a second surge this winter. Health officials are also focused on increasing the number of people being vaccinated for flu to prevent a "twindemic" from overwhelming hospitals.

According to Health Director Jacquelyn Murphy, 446 Milford residents got a flu shot at an Oct. 7 clinic sponsored by the town, Salmon VNA and Milford Public Schools.

"This year, getting a flu shot is more important than ever," Murphy said. "The flu vaccine prevents illness and prevents spreading flu to loved ones who cannot receive their vaccine. Since the flu and COVID-19 have many similar symptoms, there could be more confusion about which illness people have."