LYNN — The number of new virus cases in Lynn surged to 47 on Friday.
As the number of coronavirus cases continue to spike in Lynn, Mayor Thomas M. McGee issued a statement on Friday urging residents to wear face masks in order to protect themselves and others in the community.
“Collectively, we can limit the spread of this virus by following the proper health and safety protocols by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and washing our hands,” said McGee.
“We have worked too hard following the guidelines to reduce the cases in the city. We need to remain committed to limit the significant number of daily case increases we have seen recently.”
Lynn has reported double-digit increases in cases for the majority of this past week, but had a bit of a reprieve on Thursday, when nine new cases were reported.
The city’s 14-day positive rate of 6.12 percent is among the highest in the state, and was part of what factored into the school district’s decision to start the school year remotely for the majority of students this fall.
With 47 new cases reported on Friday, Lynn now has 4,131 cases and 111 deaths. Of the city’s total, 595 cases are active and 3,425 residents have recovered from the virus, according to city data.
The spike seen in Lynn mirrors what has been happening in other higher risk communities statewide, which prompted Gov. Charlie Baker to announce several measures aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 on Friday.
Those measures include limiting outdoor gatherings from 100 to 50 people, requiring face coverings where more than 10 people from different households are mixing, and postponing the next step in phase three of the governor’s reopening plan indefinitely.
In addition, Baker announced the state’s “Stop the Spread,” initiative, which consists of free virus testing offered in 17 communities, including Lynn and Revere, has been extended to Sept. 12.
Revere has also experienced a surge in virus cases of late, and continued its double-digit increases on Friday, with 13 new cases reported.
Revere is also among the state leaders in terms of its 14-day positive rate, which was 6.05 percent this week, according to data from the state Department of Public Health.
Revere now has 2,108 cases, 93 deaths, and 1,678 people have recovered from the virus. The city’s seven-day case average is 13.7, according to the city website.
New cases were also reported in Peabody and Saugus on Friday.
In Peabody, 13 new cases have been reported since Wednesday to bring the city’s total number of cases to 1,173.
Peabody’s death toll remained the same at 174 and 877 residents have recovered, according to the health department.
Saugus has reported six new cases since Wednesday to bring the town’s caseload to 604. Thirty-eight residents have died, according to the town website.
Numbers remained the same in Lynnfield (104 cases, 11 deaths) and Nahant (50 cases, six deaths) and were not updated in Marblehead or Swampscott.
As of Wednesday, Marblehead had 254 cases and 30 deaths and Swampscott reported 145 cases and 10 deaths.
