All but seven counties in New England are now considered low risk for COVID-19, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For the second week, Dukes County remains the only county in Massachusetts listed in the medium risk category, with the rest of the state low risk. Just a month ago most of the state was considered high risk.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
>Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
The news is good across the rest of New England as well, with not one county listed as high risk and only seven counties included in the medium risk category.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our >News Headlines newsletter.
The overall risk decline is indicative of the decrease in school cases, test positivity rate and COVID wastewater levels in recent weeks.
State health officials reported 1,915 new COVID-19 cases and eight more deaths on Thursday. The state's seven-day average positivity was at 5.85%. That's slightly higher than the previous week but still much lower than a month ago.
What about the rest of New England?
COVID levels are way down across the rest of New England as well.
Maine, which still had eight counties in the medium risk category a week ago, is now considered 100% low risk.
All of New Hampshire is also in the low risk category.
Vermont's Bennington and Rutland counties are medium risk, with the rest of the state falling into the low risk category.
Kent County in Rhode Island is medium risk, but the rest of the state is now low risk.
In Connecticut, Litchfield, Middlesex and New Haven counties are in the medium risk category, but the rest of the state is low risk.
Residents in counties with high risk are urged to wear masks indoors in public and on public transportation, to stay up to date with vaccines and to get tested if they have symptoms, according to the CDC.
Residents in areas with medium risk are encouraged to wear a mask if they have symptoms, a positive test or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Anyone at high risk for severe illness should also consider wearing a mask indoors in public and taking additional precautions, the CDC says.
