Town Covid cases down slightly this week

Oct 12, 2020

Just after the state put Dartmouth in the red  or at “higher risk” for the virus  Covid-19 cases are down slightly this week, according to new numbers released by the town’s Board of Health.

Data released by the Board of Health on Oct. 9 shows that the town saw 19 new coronavirus cases in the past week, fewer than the 22 recorded in the week ending Oct. 2.

But due to an uptick in cases since late September, the Massachusetts Covid-19 dashboard listed Dartmouth in the red on Oct. 7, showing 42 positive cases in Dartmouth in the previous two weeks — a case rate above eight per 100k residents.

If the town’s red-zone status continues for another two weeks, it must return to Step 1 of Phase 3 of the governor’s reopening plan, which sets lower maximum capacity limits for outdoor gatherings, among other restrictions.

Dartmouth has now seen 535 Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic in March, with a high of 78 cases reported in just one week at the end of April. As of Aug. 28, 36 residents had died from the viral illness, many of those at-risk residents of nursing homes.

It is unclear how many of the new cases in the most recent surge are at congregate facilities, such as assisted living or the Faunce Corner Road jail.

As of Oct. 12, Massachusetts has seen 136,933 coronavirus cases and 9,401 deaths among confirmed cases. Bristol County has seen 10,670 cases confirmed to date.