PRESS RELEASE

The City of Chicopee designated Red/High-Risk Community

For immediate release: October 22, 2020

CHICOPEE – On Wednesday, October 22, 2020, the newly released COVID-19 map, released every Wednesday by the Massachusetts Department of Health, shows the City of Chicopee ranked as red/high-risk. An increase in COVID-19 cases has raised the city’s risk level. In the last 14 days, Chicopee has had 74 cases.

Based on the average daily cases per 100,000 residents, each city or town has been designated as a higher risk (red), moderate risk (yellow), or lower risk (green) community. Communities with fewer than 5 cases are not given a designation. Chicopee’s average daily incident rate per 100,000 population is now at 9.5.

This category change will not impact the Chicopee Public School’s hybrid plan as long as there continues to be no evidence of Covid-19 transmission in the public school buildings. The next phase of students entering the schools for in-person learning has been paused. If the City of Chicopee has three consecutive weeks in the red/high-risk category, public schools may be required to go to full-remote learning, the ability to gather will be impacted, and local businesses may be impacted by a possible reduction in group seating at indoor and outdoor tables may be reduced from 10 people to 6. 

Chicopee has already advanced to Step 2 of Phase 3 but would have to revert to Step 1 of Phase 3 if it continues to receive a higher risk designation for three consecutive weekly reports (4 weeks of data).

“We implore every one our residents to follow the CDC social distancing guidelines, to wear a face covering, wash your hands frequently, and stay home if you feel sick,” stated Mayor John L. Vieau. “We ALL have a role in keeping our community and each other safe. Please take your role seriously – we have the opportunity to change this outcome.”

Mayor Vieau and Chicopee Health Director Lisa Sanders are positive that with the proper public health and safety measures being followed in the community, Chicopee will return to lower risk status.   

“The City of Chicopee has gone from yellow to red in just a few weeks. Our residents need to take COVID-19 seriously. We are all at increased risk of contracting this virus if people continue to ignore the importance of following the recommended preventive measures,” said Lisa Sanders, Chicopee Board of Health Director.

 You can view in more detail, including how many people have been tested in each city town, on the Mass.gov website.

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