BOSTON - Coronavirus news was mixed this week. North Attleboro’s numbers are up for the two week period ending Wednesday, March 17, while Plainville’s are down.
Even with the rise in reported cases, North Attleboro is still in the yellow category. The state uses color codes to signify risk in cities in towns across the Commonwealth. Towns with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 that have more than 10 average cases OR a positivity of 5 percent or higher are designated as yellow.
The town’s incidence rate per 100,000 residents for the two-week period ending Wednesday was 23.3, up four from the 19.3 posted last week. The percent positivity was also up to 4.21, almost a full percentage point higher than the 3.34 in last week’s report.
Plainville is back in the yellow after having been classified in the red.
The average daily incidence rate dropped to an even 14.0, down from 22.5 last week. The positivity rate is now at 2.24 percent, down from 3.67 percent last week.
Towns with a population of less than 10,000 residents are designated as red if there were 25 or more total cases. Plainville had 18.
The unemployment numbers for January were released this week by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
North Attleboro saw a slight increase from December, edging up to 6.6 percent from 6.5. The town was at 3.2 percent last January.
Plainville had the largest decrease in January at 6.5 percent, down from 6.8 in December. The town was also at 3.2 percent a year ago.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission released revenue figures for February at Plainridge Park Casino and the state’s other two gambling facilities.
The report shows Plainridge collected just under $9.6 million in gross gaming revenue, the total of all bets wagered minus payouts. The amount was down almost $200,000 from January.
In February of 2020, Plainridge collected $11 million, before the world change due to COVID.
The numbers are still better than the $7.6 million posted in November, the casino’s worst month.
The numbers are important to the town of Plainville, which receives 1.5 percent of the gross gaming revenue and property taxes of approximately $1.5 million. For February, that amounts to approximately $144,000, down significantly from the $225,000 the town was guaranteed per month during Plainridge’s first five years of operation.
Encore Boston Harbor earned $40.9 in February, up from $33.3 million in January. MGM Springfield posted $16.89 million last month, up from $14.5 million in January.
