North Andover Remains Red Community In Latest State Update

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — Forty communities were designated high-risk in the new town-by-town data released by the state Wednesday, including North Andover.

Despite a plea by town officials for Merrimack College to be excluded from the town's case count, the red designation means the town cannot move forward with further reopening.

State rules mean that high-risk communities, plus others that were high-risk in the last two updates, cannot move on to the next phase. Towns were marked high-risk, or red, if they reported more than eight confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks.

The state deemed North Andover "red" for a second week in a row. The town averaged 34.48 new daily cases per 100,000 residents.

>>MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: 40 High-Risk Communities

The latest data showed the positive test rate over the last two weeks increased in 176 of the 351 communities in the state. The rate fell in 68 communities and held steady in the remaining 148.

North Andover's case count over the last 14 days was 146, bringing the total number of cases to 568, according to state data. The town conducted 9,889 tests over the past two weeks, 162 of which came back positive.

North Andover's cases include an outbreak at Merrimack College's Monican Hall, with over 100 cases attributable to the college. As of Monday, the town had fallen back down to 52 active cases, down from 124 on Oct. 1.

>>North Andover Officials Ask Governor To Let Town Reopen Further

The town's percent positive rate over the last two weeks was 1.64 percent.

View the state's interactive COVID-19 map.

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