Wayland Moves To 'Moderate Risk' Coronavirus Category

WAYLAND, MA — Wayland has joined a growing list of towns in Massachusetts where coronavirus cases are moving in the wrong direction.

On Thursday, the state Department of Public Health reported an increase in cases in Wayland, and moved the town up to the "moderate risk" category for virus transmission. Wayland now appears in yellow on a statewide risk map.

Towns in the moderate risk category have seen between 4 and 8 new cases per day over the last two weeks per 100,000 people.

On Oct. 22, Wayland was adding 1.6 new cases per day per 100,000 people. That figured jumped to 5.4 new cases per 100,000 yesterday.

According to the state, Wayland has added 11 new cases over the past two weeks. However, the 14-day positive test rate was sitting at 0.88 percent, much lower than the statewide 1.55 percent average.

Nearby, Weston, Sudbury and Natick are all also in the moderate-risk category.

The higher coronavirus risk comes as Wayland is dealing with a cluster connected to the Coach Grill. The restaurant reported one employee had tested positive on Oct. 15. But by Monday, the restaurant reported two more infections in employees, and voluntarily shut down.

Wayland health officials are also advising against trick-or-treating on Halloween due to rising local cases.