Eastie experienced more than a 50 percent increase in COVID-19 positive test rates last week, and is now over 15 percent, according to the latest data released by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC).
Last Friday the BPHC reported that of the 22,616 Eastie residents tested for COVID last week 16.8 percent were found to be positive for the virus, a 51 percent decrease from the 11.1 percent reported two Fridays ago. Eastie now has the highest positive test rate in Boston.
Overall since the pandemic began, 13.7 percent of Eastie residents here have been found to be positive. The citywide positive test rate was up 11 percent and went from 7.1 percent of Boston residents testing positive for the virus to 7.9 percent last week.
At a press briefing last Thursday Mayor Martin Walsh said Eastie is again a concern, as its rate jumped up to over 16 percent. The Mayor said that the City’s public health experts are developing new metrics that we will be able to share this week.
“This epidemic evolves and its impact on our neighborhoods evolves,” he said.
“So we need to evolve the ways we monitor its activity, and how we understand all the complexities of COVID spread in the community.”
Walsh again urged residents, regardless of symptoms, to get tested as part of the city’s “Get the Test Boston” campaign. Walsh said getting tested helps strengthen the city’s data and protect the hardest hit communities.
“We have over 30 testing sites in the City of Boston, and we operate two mobile testing sites that are free and open to anyone, whether they have symptoms or not,” he said.
The city, in conjunction with the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, ran a free testing site in Central Square through last Saturday.
Walsh added that the large gatherings, which occurred last week around the presidential election were peaceful, and that the vast majority of attendees wore masks, for which he thanked them. He added that anyone who attended such a gathering should nevertheless make it a priority to get tested for COVID-19.
“As winter approaches and our numbers go up, we are in a critical moment in the course of the pandemic, and I urge everyone to follow the state and city guidelines and take all the precautions necessary to slow the spread of the virus,” he said.
Eastie’s infection rate rose by 7.3 percent according to the data released by the BPHC last Friday. Eastie’s COVID infection rate went from 625.4 cases per 10,000 residents to 671.4 cases per 10,000 residents. The citywide average is 341.4 cases per 10,000 residents and Eastie still has one of the highest infection rates in all of Boston.
So far 3,151 Eastie residents have contracted the virus and the neighborhood accounts for 13 percent of all cases in Boston.
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 7.8 percent last week and went from 22,407 cases to 24,159 cases.
Four more Boston residents died from the virus and there are now 884 total deaths in the city from COVID.