Every week the MA Dept. of Public Health releases numbers for how COVID-19 has impacted the state, and we try to highlight some of these numbers so the community is informed about how COVID is impacting Lynn & the state. Their numbers factor in the past week as well as the week before, giving 2 weeks worth of data.

The City of Lynn officially entered the yellow COVID-19 risk category for the first time last week. For the duration of the pandemic Lynn has been hit hard, staying in the red category until this point and passing 15,000 total cases last month. Lynn currently has 306 active cases, down from 1,100 just last month. New 24-hour cases have not risen above 81 & 29 people have died since the start of February, both statistics tredning in a positive direction for the city.

While this news is a sigh of relief for many it doesn’t mean Lynn is in the clear yet, as Lynn’s numbers worsened slightly this week. We have more active cases, higher positivcity rates, & higher daily incidence rates than we did last week. However, these are not enough to warrant going back into the red category yet, for that to happen Lynn would need to surpass to 4% positivity rate threshold. If you’re curious about last week’s numbers you can click here to view them and compare yourself.

Overall the numbers & news are very positive for Lynn, but caution is still urged. There is concern a lack of vaccine availability, the coming warmer weather, re-opening schools to in-person learning, & loosening restrictions could cause a spike in cases. With those factors in mind it is still recommended to take COVID-19 seriously until you’ve been fully vaccinated, & even after to still mask up and distance for at least a little while to help mitigate the spread to ensure those that aren’t able to get the vaccine yet remain healthy. Please read about the Lynn Tech vaccination site by clicking here.

The average daily incidence rate per 100,000 for Lynn this week was 22.3 while it was at 21.8, 26.1, 31.4, & 43.7 the last 4 weeks. The positivity rate this week was 3.81% while it was 3.63%, 4.37, 5.32%, & 6.89% the last 4 weeks. These are both very positive trends for Lynn, which hasn’t seen consistently good numbers like this for months. You can view these trends for Lynn yourself on the City of Lynn’s COVID-19 dashboard by clicking here. You can click the icon in the top-right corner of each section to see it enlarged.

The state of Massachusetts has also seen some positive trends overall. The average daily incidence rate per 100,000 for MA this week was 19.5 while for the past 4 weeks it was 20.3, 23.3, 30.0, & 38.5. The positivity rate this week was 1.83%, the same as last week. The 4 weeks prior it had been 1.93%, 2.15%, 2.70%, 3.40%, & 4.32%. The past few weeks the number of communities in the red category has rapidly declined, with under 20 now but reaching well past 100 throughout February. The number of communities in the yellow has fluctuated due to communities changing categories, however this number has also been trending promisingly overall.

The United States currently has 29.7 million cases, up only 400K from last week. There are currently 122 million cases reported worldwide, up from 119 million last week. Internationally cases have remained fairly constatnt, with at least 3million more a week for several weeks now. Increases in case numbers in the U.S. have dropped significantly, with well over a month not seeing more than 1 million more cases a week. At it’s height back in early January 208,336 new cases were reported with a 7-day average of 254,873. Currently there are only 60,859 new cases reported and a 7-day average of 54,740.

The death toll in the US now sits at approx. 539K while it was at 530K, 520K, 508K, & 493K the previous 4 weeks. This accounts for 20% of the worldwide death toll, and is about double the amount of the country with the second-highest total deaths: Brazil (287K). The good news is that deaths are trending downwards, but are still at the levels we first saw back in April 2020. Yesterday 1,558 were declared dead due to COVID-19, & the current 7-day average for deaths sits at 1,265.

In Massachusetts there are currently 20 communities in the red category & 175 in the yellow category. The last 4 weeks there were 14, 19, 28, & 66 communities in the red. The last 4 weeks there were 181, 178, 190, & 166 communities in the yellow.

The MA Department of Public Health continues to conduct surveillance for COVID-19 variants of concern including B.1.1.7 (first identified in the UK), B.1.351 (first identified in South Africa) and P.1 (first identified in Brazil).

Surveillance, consisting of genetic sequencing on portions of COVID-19 positive specimens, has been ongoing in a collaboration between the Massachusetts State Public health Laboratory with clinical diagnostic laboratories and academic partners, including the CDC. Surveillance data so far has identified B.1.1.7 and the B.1.351 cases without any recent travel; it is critical to do everything possible to keep variants of concern from becoming widespread.

The public health risk reduction measures remain the same. Individuals must continue to wear masks or face coverings while out in public, maintain 6-foot social distancing, stay home when you are sick, and get tested if you have symptoms or are identified as a close contact

Below are the statistics for Lynn & the state.

City/Town	Total Case Count	Case Count (Last 14 Days)	Average Daily Incidence Rate per 100,000 (Last 14 days)	Relative Change in Case Counts	Total Tests	Total Tests (Last 14 days)	Total Positive Tests (Last 14 days)	Percent Positivity (Last 14 days)	Change in Percent Positivity
Lynn	15,664	315	22.3	Higher	196,675	9,818	374	3.81%	Higher
STATEWIDE	572,278	19,036	19.5	Lower	17,607,605	1,193,281	21,789	1.83%	N/A

WARD COUNCILOR  | 100 signatures from the Ward.

All fine art media will be considered. This call is open to all artists, both amateur and professional. The artist’s name, piece title, and price must be attached to the artwork. Artwork must be ready to install. 2D artwork should be framed/finished and ready to hang gallery style with wire (no sawtooth hangers). There are pedestals for 3D works so please discuss your display needs for sculptural pieces.

You can submit up to 3 pieces for #abstractart , and up to 3 pieces for #minimalistart . The first 2 pieces submitted for each theme should be under $300. Exhibit fee of $5 for members/$20 for non-members ​per theme​ to be paid by cash, credit card, check, or money order made out to GALA.

If you have any questions please reach out to us at galleriesatlynnarts@gmail.com or call Annette Sykes at (617) 909 9211