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Peabody deaths at 90, Lynn fourth in state’s cases
By Gayla Cawley | May 7, 2020
Peabody’s death toll has climbed to 90 and Lynn has the fourth most coronavirus cases in the state, according to city and state data released on Wednesday.
Lynn and Saugus also reported additional deaths on Wednesday, as new data from the state Department of Public Health (DPH) shows cases continue to rise throughout the region.
Seven more Peabody residents have died since Monday, which the city’s Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt has attributed to a large concentration of deaths in nursing homes.
On Monday, Bettencourt said more than 80 percent of the city’s deaths have been residents in long-term care facilities. The city’s death toll is much higher than nearby communities, including Lynn, which is nearly twice its size in terms of population.
Sixty-eight Lynn residents have died, which includes another death that the city reported on Wednesday. The majority of virus fatalities have been residents between the ages of 61-101, who account for 57 of the city’s 68 deaths. No one under the age of 40 has died.
Although Peabody has a higher number of deaths, Lynn has more than three times as many COVID-19 cases. Peabody is reporting 793 residents have been infected, while the DPH puts Lynn’s caseload at 2,536.
Lynn has more cases than Chelsea, which has garnered national attention as a coronavirus hot spot, and only trails Boston, Brockton and Worcester for the state’s highest caseload.
However, Chelsea has a much higher rate of infection than Lynn — Chelsea has 2,244 cases, but the highest rate in the state at 5,957 per 100,000 residents, while Lynn’s is much lower, but still the third highest in Massachusetts at 2,513 per 100,000 residents.
In terms of infection rate, Revere is not far behind at 2,145 per 100,000 residents, which puts the city at sixth highest in the state.
Despite Lynn’s high number of cases, city data shows the day-by-day increase has dropped significantly in the past week. There were 31 new cases reported on Wednesday, which follows the 22 and 21 new cases that were reported on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
Elsewhere, two more Saugus residents have died since Monday, which brings the town’s death toll to 18.
Lynnfield has 79 cases and 11 deaths, Marblehead has 158 cases and eight deaths, Nahant has 32 cases and five deaths, Revere has 1,307 cases and 40 deaths, Saugus has 391 cases, and Swampscott has 109 cases and seven deaths, according to city and state data.
Item reporter Anne Marie Tobin contributed to this report.