Last week the overall COVID-19 positive test rate in Mission Hill/Roxbury increased slightly throughout February while the neighborhood’s weekly test rate decreased dramatically.
According to the latest data released by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) of the 40,280 Mission Hill/Roxbury residents tested for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, 11.2 percent are COVID positive. This was a 4.7 percent decrease from the 10.7 percent that were found to be positive overall at the end of January.
Last week 1,508 residents were tested and 4.6 percent were positive – a 32 percent decrease from the 6.8 percent that had tested positive during the last week of January.
Citywide, 26,561 residents were tested and 3.5 percent were COVID positive–a 6.25 percent decrease from the 3.8 percent testing positive two weeks ago.
At a press briefing Monday Mayor Martin Walsh said an average of nearly 3,800 Boston residents were tested for COVID each day last week.
“The seven-day average for daily positive tests was 161 and the average daily positive rate was 3.5 percent,” said Walsh. “The City’s case metrics have levelled off and even ticked upward in the last few days of data. This is not a cause for concern, but it’s a good reminder not to take this positive trend for granted.”
The Mayor urged everyone to remain vigilant and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves and our communities against the virus.
The Mayor also encouraged seniors and everyone who is eligible to receive the vaccine to get it as soon as they can. Boston residents 65 and older can call 3-1-1 and get connected to the City’s Age Strong Commission for help in multiple languages. Veterans 55 or older, enrolled in VA Healthcare, can get vaccinated at any VA health facility in Boston.
“The full schedule for vaccine eligibility is at Mass.gov/CovidVaccine,” said Walsh. “And the State has a Vaccine Scheduling Resource available by calling 2-1-1.”
The Mission Hill/Roxbury COVID-19 infection rate increased only 10.5 percent throughout the month of February after posting a 45 percent increase throughout January.
According to data released last Friday by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) the COVID-19 infection rate went from 941.1 cases per 10,000 residents to an infection rate of 1,040 cases per 10,000 residents during the month.
An additional 427 Mission Hill/Roxbury residents became infected with the virus throughout February and the number of cases increased from 4,059 to 4,486. Throughout January there were 1,261 new cases so the numbers have seemed to come down quite a bit.
The statistics released by the BPHC as part of its weekly COVID19 report breaks down the number of cases and infection rates in each neighborhood. It also breaks down the number of cases by age, gender and race.
Citywide positive cases of coronavirus increased 2.5 percent last week and went from 57,675 cases to 59,148 confirmed cases in a week. Twenty-nine additional Boston residents died from the virus last week and there are now 1,277 total deaths in the city from COVID.