After one Center School class switched to remote learning last week due to a covid outbreak, Mattapoisett recorded nearly 40 new cases of covid in the week leading up to Oct. 7.

Between Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester, 63 new cases were recorded — the most since February, just after the worst of the holiday surge.

Mattapoisett recorded 37 new cases of covid, the most in town since the first week of 2021. The spike follows an outbreak at Center School, where the Old Rochester Regional School District reported there were 11 active cases last week.

Rochester recorded 18 new cases, the most in town since late April. Marion, however, saw a decrease in new cases — recording eight after finding 14 the week prior.

Cases rose in the Old Rochester Regional School District, too, jumping from 20 active cases last week to 34 active cases the week leading up to Oct. 7.

Center School, which had 11 ongoing cases, now has 17. Five cases each are active in Old Hammondtown and Rochester Memorial Schools, with six cases at Sippican School. There is one case at the junior high, and none at Old Rochester Regional High School.

As cases rise in the Tri-Town, vaccination rates have stagnated. Marion and Mattapoisett are each sitting just beneath two major thresholds: 90% of residents with at least one dose of a covid vaccine and 80% full vaccination. Those figures currently sit at 88% and 79%, respectively, in both towns.

Vaccination rates at Old Rochester Regional High School also sit just beneath a major 80% threshold, at 75.5% as of Oct. 7. Should the vaccination rate pass 80% at OR before Oct. 15, vaccinated students will be allowed to shed their masks at school starting Nov. 1, as long as the state’s mask mandate is not extended further.

At the junior high, vaccination rates sit at 57.7% for students and staff, but a vaccine has yet to be approved for those under 12. Across the district, the vaccination rate is 59.9%

In Rochester, vaccination rates lag far behind Marion and Mattapoisett. The town has a 66% one-dose rate, and 60% of Rochester residents are fully vaccinated.

State covid data is released every Thursday, and the Old Rochester covid dashboard is updated weekly.