Ten days after Mayor Michelle Wu and the city implemented the ‘B Together” mandate that requires all employees and patrons at indoor venues to show proof of vaccination, Eastie’s weekly COVID 19 positive test rate has dipped for a second week in a row.
The COVID winter surge has wreaked havoc on the city and affected school attendance for both staff and students, closed local business due to staff shortages and put a strain on emergency rooms at area hospitals.
Two weeks ago nearly 4 out of every 10 residents tested for the virus last week turned out to be positive but that number has dropped.
Last week, 2,268 Eastie residents were tested for the virus last week and 29.2 percent were positive–this was a 23 percent decrease from the 37.8 percent that tested positive as reported by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) on January 17. The weekly positive test rate has now decreased 23 percent in Eastie since January 10.
Six hundred sixty two additional Eastie residents contracted the virus between January 17 and January 24 there are now 13,452 confirmed cases in the neighborhood since the start of the pandemic.
The citywide weekly positive test rate also decreased last week. According to the BPHC 30,644 residents were tested and 24 percent were COVID positive–this was a 24 percent decrease from the 31.6 percent that reportedly tested positive for the week ending on January 17. The weekly positive test rate has now decreased 25 percent in Boston since January 10.
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 percent last week and went from 141,491 cases to 151,584 confirmed cases in a week.
However, there were 34 additional deaths in Boston from the virus in the past week and the total COVID deaths is now at 1,588. Deaths, which decreased 24 percent two weeks ago, increased 79 percent last week.