Attleboro area remains red as vaccinations rev up
It was another week in the red for communities in The Sun Chronicle circulation area while the number of vaccinations began to grow for the highly contagious and sometimes deadly coronavirus.
The week ending Jan. 14 marked the third consecutive one all 10 communities in the area were in the coronavirus red zone, the worst of the state’s four color-coded categories when it comes to rates of infection.
Attleboro has spent the most time in the red zone among the 10, recording its ninth consecutive week there and 13th out of the last 15 weeks.
Three critical numbers went up during the week.
The number of cases jumped for the third consecutive week, to 889, which pushed the area over the 10,000 case mark to 10,019.
The 889 cases were 25 shy of the 914 recorded for the week ending Dec. 12, which was the highest number to date.
In addition, the average incidence rate hit 62.49, up from 51.46, and it went up in each of the 10 communities.
The incidence rate equals the average number of cases per day over 14 days per 100,000 people.
The average positive test percentage bumped up slightly to 9.18 from 8.87 and went up in six of the 10 communities.
It went down in Attleboro, Mansfield, North Attleboro and Plainville, but the declines in each community were less than one point.
Statewide, 219 cities and towns, or 62 percent of the state’s 351 communities, are in the red zone.
Most of them are in the eastern half of the state.
The number of deaths in this area is holding steady at about 199. Fortunately, the number of deaths has not surged at the same rate as the number of cases.
There is other good news. While there are still two days to go in the week, the average number of cases a day statewide has declined.
For the week ending Jan. 9 there were an average of 6,132 confirmed and probable new cases per day, which is the highest number recorded in the state during the pandemic, which began 10 months ago in March.
For the first five days of this week, the daily average has dropped by 679 to 5,433 per day.
Meanwhile, the state continues to ramp up its vaccination program providing shots to those in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and first responders.
Seniors are at the greatest risk for dying from the disease and first responders, firefighters, paramedics and police officers are among those at the greatest risk of catching and spreading it.
With more and more vaccinations given, it is hoped the number of cases will start to decline.
As of Tuesday, 206,190 first doses of the two-dose vaccine had been administered and 31,673 second doses had been given.
In Bristol County, 2.8 percent of the population has been vaccinated and in Norfolk County the number is 2.5 percent.
On Friday, more than 150 residents and staff at The Branches of North Attleboro, an assisted living facility, will be vaccinated with the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Spokeswoman Carol Arnold said the facility is turning the inoculations into a celebration.
“A race theme complete with checkered flags and medals for everyone who gets the vaccine will commemorate the communities’ race to beat COVID,” she said in a press release.
On Monday Gillette Stadium in Foxboro will open as a mass inoculation station.
It’s expected to administer 300 vaccinations per day in the first week and eventually expand to thousands.