Newton's COVID-19 Positivity Rate Lowers To 11%, Cases Slowing

NEWTON, MA — Newton's positive COVID-19 test rate is now at 11.2 percent, a two percent decrease since last week, according to the latest municipal-level data released by the Department of Public Health Thursday.

This week, the City of Newton reported a two-week case count of 2,208 compared to last week's case count of 2,105, a sign that local cases are tapering off. Also over the past week, Newton was adding 172 new cases per day per 100,000 people. That's much lower than the 231.8 cases per 100,000 in Newton measured on Jan. 14.

On Thursday afternoon, the state Department of Public Health reported 14,384 new coronavirus cases statewide and 86 new deaths. The 7-day average case count fell below 10,000 for the first time in 2022 and the daily hospitalization count has gradually declined from a peak on Jan. 14

The latest vaccine report shows the number of residents who are fully vaccinated has risen to 5.17 million. Just over 87 percent are fully vaccinated in Newton, and over 95 percent are partially vaccinated.

The state releases town-by-town testing data every Thursday, including the number of people tested, the testing rate, the positive test rate, cases and infection rates.