(Updated to May 13th)
- Gateway Cities have been hit harder by the COVID-19 virus than has Massachusetts statewide.
- The number COVID-19 cases has been growing faster in Haverhill than in other Gateway Cities.
- Haverhill is now in the middle of Gateway Cities ranking 12th among 26 Gateway Cities in cumulative COVID-19 cases per capita.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health recently released COVID-19 case counts by city. Cumulative COVID-19 case per capita are on average 46 percent higher in the Massachusetts Gateway Cities than state wide (see Chart 1).
Chart 1
Among the 26 Gateway Cities Haverhill ranked 12th, up from 15th on April 29th and 19th on April 14th. This puts Haverhill just above the middle of this group of Massachusetts cities, many with diverse populations and facing economic challenges. While many factors affect case counts (including the amount of testing), moving up in the cumulative case-count-per-capita ranking raises some concern.
Chart 2 below shows the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population, as identified by May 13, 2020.
Chart 2