Baker: No Exception For North Andover From High-Risk Town Rules

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover will not be able to move forward with reopening until its case rates drop out of the high-risk zone, Gov. Charlie Baker said at a press conference Tuesday.

Baker said that the state would not make exceptions for communities where coronavirus outbreaks can be traced to particular institutions, like North Andover's Merrimack College outbreak or Middleton's Essex jail outbreak.

"It doesn't make sense for us to change a program model for 351 cities and towns for one or two outliers," Baker said.

Town officials had asked the state to exclude the Merrimack College numbers from the town's totals in weekly case updates. Including the numbers, the town has been far above the eight cases per 100,000 threshold to qualify as high-risk, or red, for the last two weeks.

The town will have to go three weeks without being high-risk to begin Part 2 of Phase 3. That step forward reopens indoor performance venues; expands capacity at outdoor performance venues, gyms, museums, driving and flight schools; reopens more indoor activities; and permits fitting rooms to open in all retail stores. It also allows for increased outdoor gatherings at events and in public settings.

The town's cases, including the college, have already fallen dramatically, from a high of 124 on Oct. 1 to 32, as of Monday.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.

An earlier version of this story referred to the outbreak in Middleton incorrectly. It has been corrected.