Here’s a look at a new state map of high, moderate and low risk communities for COVID-19 in Mass.


Governor Charlie Baker announced on Tuesday that the state would begin releasing a new coronavirus case card weekly to show which Massachusetts communities are at high, moderate and low risk of COVID-19 infection .

The new map “will be updated regularly in the near future,” Baker said, and will be included in the Public Health Public Weekly Dashboard, which is published every Wednesday.

Baker said the map shows 33 communities that had more than four cases per 100,000 people in the previous two weeks of testing, adding that those cities and towns need specific strategies to attack the coronavirus. He said the measure per four per 100,000 people is used by many other states to measure community health under COVID-19.

The state issued the first such card on Tuesday, although a list of city and town names was not immediately included. The map is based on data from July 22 to August 5.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said Tuesday that four communities had the highest risk levels: Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, and Revere.

The card contains a color-coded ranking system. Here’s what each color means:

– Red: indicates municipalities that have more than eight cases per 100,000 people, which, based on a national and global health standard, means that the community is at high risk for COVID-19 infection.

– Yellow: Indicates municipalities that have between four and eight cases per 100,000 people, as a moderate risk.

– Green: indicates municipalities that have less than four cases per 100,000 people.

– White: The lowest risk color, indicating that less than five total cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the last 14 days.


Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @JaclynReiss