JP’s cumulative positive test rate up slightly

JP’s cumulative positive test rate up slightly, weekly test rate drops dramatically  

Last week the cumulative COVID-19 positive test rate in Jamaica Plain increased slightly but the weekly positive test rate dropped dramatically according to the latest data released by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) last Friday. 

According to the data 33,070 Jamaica Plain residents have been tested for COVID since the pandemic began and 7.6 percent overall were found to be positive–an increase of 1.3 percent from the7.5 percent reported on February 5. 

Last week 2,205 Jamaica Plain residents were tested and 1.2 percent were found to be COVID positive– a 65 percent decrease from the 3.4 percent reported by the BPHC on February 5. 

Citywide, ​​​29,757 residents were tested and 3.8 percent were COVID positive–a 21 percent decrease from the 4.8 percent testing positive two weeks ago. 

At a press briefing last Thursday Mayor Martin Walsh said the average number of positive tests recorded each day was 209. That’s down by about 13% from the week before, and daily new cases have continued to go down since early January.

“Our current community positivity rate was 4.8 percent,” said Walsh. “That’s below our 5 percent threshold, and the lowest positivity we’ve seen since October. The rate went down in every neighborhood, and every neighborhood is now below 8 percent, which is good news. An average of 4,263 people were tested each day. That’s up by 3 percent over the week before and does not include college testing.”

The Mayor said Boston continues to work with the State on the vaccine rollout. 

“On Wednesday, the Governor announced that, as of February 18, anyone 65 or older, or who has two or more qualifying medical conditions, is now eligible for the vaccine,” said Walsh. 

The Mayor noted that moderate and severe asthma are now included in that list of conditions, which is a good thing. 

“This was an important decision, to ensure that more residents of color who face elevated risk are eligible sooner,” said Walsh. “In addition, everyone in Phase 1 continues to be eligible if you have not been vaccinated yet — including health care workers, first responders, and residents and staff in long-term care and congregate care settings.”

The full updated schedule is at Mass.gov/CovidVaccine.

Walsh said the City of Boston will continue to advocate on behalf of Boston residents, and increase equity in this process for any resident or community that may face barriers. He said the City is focusing on access in the Black community; the Latino community; the Asian community; and our immigrant communities. 

“We’re also focusing on access for elderly residents and those with disabilities,” he said. “We’re doing targeted outreach to these communities through City departments, Community Health Centers, and nonprofit partners.”

According to the BPHC data, Jamaica Plain’s infection rate increased 4 percent since February 5.

Jamaica Plain went from 594.8 cases per 10,000 residents to 618.6 cases per 10,000 residents. 

An additional 96 Jamaica Plain residents became infected with COVID-19 since February 5 and the number of total cases here went from 2,402 cases to 2,498 cases in the neighborhood. 

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 3.4 percent  percent last week and went from  56,079 cases to 58,020 confirmed cases in a week. Forty-two additional Boston residents died from the virus last week and there are now 1,256 total deaths in the city from COVID. 

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