How 2 Hard-Hit New England Cities Slowed Coronavirus Infections

Chelsea City Manager Tom Ambrosino scanned the chart he uses to track the daily coronavirus case updates for this small, densely populated community. The chart peaked on April 13, when160 residents received positive test results. In the past week, the city recorded between zero and four new cases a day.

Ambrosino liked what he saw.

“At this point I’d say it’s a very positive trend,” he said.

Chelsea has the highest coronavirus infection rate in Massachusetts and among the highest in the country. While the city has seen a marked drop in new, daily positive cases, the rolling average is still about four times higher than the state as a whole.

On Friday, the Baker administration launched an expanded testing program in Chelsea and seven other hard hit communities to try and stop the spread. Ambrosino said he welcomes the assistance. But he’s also pleased with the progress Chelsea residents have made toward controlling the coronavirus.

That progress may hold lessons for other communities with large numbers of immigrants who live in crowded apartments and commute using public transportation to jobs they can’t do from home — in hospitals, nursing homes or other essential services. Those factors haven’t changed in Chelsea. What has changed, said Ambrosino, is the behavior of residents.

“Most people in Chelsea were alarmed by the high contagion rates,” he said. “We put a lot of messaging out about the need to stay at home, stay isolated if you were sick, don’t go out if you were sick and wear a mask in public. For the most part, people listened.”

On a walk down one of Chelsea’s main streets, for example, Abrosino spotted just a couple of people who weren’t wearing masks. And most people waiting in line at a food distribution site created to ease the stress of the pandemic were paying attention to markers spaced six feet apart.

The city hands out boxes with 10 prepared meals, as well as milk and bananas, Monday through Friday. Lourdes Alvarez, who runs Chelsea’s food distribution project, said she expects to distribute 600 boxes today. The city delivers meals to residents who are sick or are staying home because they may be infected.

Read the rest of this story at WBUR’s website.