The City of Lynn is reporting that seven more residents have died from the coronavirus since last Friday and cases continue to rise in other nearby communities.
The additional deaths, which were reported by the Lynn Department of Public Health on Tuesday, occurred over a four-day period, from Saturday to Tuesday.
To date, there have been 1,173 COVID-19 cases in the city and 28 Lynn residents have died.
Since last Friday, there has been a 31.6 percent increase in confirmed cases. An additional 282 people have been infected over that four-day period.
The largest day-to-day spike occurred on Saturday, with 113 new cases reported, followed by an additional 86 cases on Sunday. Numbers decreased significantly on Monday, with 29 new cases reported, but spiked again on Tuesday when the city confirmed another 54 cases.
The virus continues to have the largest impact on people between the ages of 20-60, in terms of confirmed cases. Of the city’s 1,173 total cases, 821 of the people who have been infected fall within that age range.
“At this time when critical services are most essential, I, along with my colleague mayors and United States Conference of Mayors, are calling on Congress and the Administration to make federal support available to local and state governments,” said Mayor Thomas M. McGee in a Facebook post.
“Defeating COVID-19 requires us to work together and support all cities. Our local budgets are being hit hard and drained from the economic shutdown. Cities need help now to fight the COVID-19 virus and to maintain critical public services.”
Elsewhere, there have been 391 cases and 37 deaths in Peabody as of Monday, 137 cases in Saugus as of Saturday, 27 cases and three deaths in Nahant, and 65 people have been infected in Swampscott.
The Town of Lynnfield has 56 cases, but eight deaths have been reported in the municipality, which only has about 13,000 residents. There were two deaths each on Sunday and Monday.
As of Tuesday, there have been 733 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Revere and 30 residents have died.
“Projections show that we are nearing ‘the peak,’ and we need our residents to stay the course,” said Revere Mayor Brian M. Arrigo in a statement. “Please, stay at home and help save lives.”
Although the increase has been relatively small since Sunday — with 39 new cases reported — the city experienced a large spike in cases from Friday to Sunday. Over that time period, 115 additional residents were infected.
Of those 115 cases, the city said a vast majority were located with a private nursing facility. The National Guard was dispatched to the facility last week to conduct testing of every resident and staff member. As of Saturday evening, more than half of the residents who had tested positive were asymptomatic.
The facility, Lighthouse Nursing Care Center, reported that 85 residents and 21 staff members had tested positive. Of those cases, three residents have died, according to The Boston Globe.
“What the most recent data is showing us is that there are likely many more people in our city who have contracted the virus, but who do not exhibit symptoms,” said Arrigo. “This underscores the importance of continuing to do your part to slow the spread. Even if you are feeling perfectly healthy, you can spread the virus.”
Testing is now available to any Revere resident experiencing COVID-19 symptoms at Beth Israel Deaconess Chelsea on Broadway and MGH Chelsea Healthcare on Everett Avenue. No insurance, primary care provider or referral is needed and no questions will be asked.
Item staffers Elyse Carmosino, David McLellan and Anne Marie Tobin contributed to this report.
