Acting Mayor Kim Janey on Tuesday warned that the city’s rate of COVID-19 infections has recently ticked up, in large part because more young people are getting the virus.
Janey noted the city’s positivity rate has risen to 4.2 percent.
“This translates into over 170 cases per day,” she told reporters during a City Hall briefing. “The 17 percent increase in [the] positivity rate illustrates that many people are still getting COVID.”
She said young people are a major factor in the spike.
“More than half of the new cases in the past two weeks have come from Bostonians under the age of 29,“ Janey said.
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The vaccination rate is also rising fast, she said; more than 30 percent of Bostonians have received at least one dose of vaccine.
In addition, Janey announced that the city was setting aside $50 million — most of it from the federal government — to help struggling renters and landlords make ends meet amid the pandemic.
“This new funding will help renters remain in their homes and help landlords who are struggling,” she said. “We’re doing this work with nonprofit partners, because I understand how important it is to leverage every available resource. We are working together to protect public health, to promote housing stability, and to ensure an equitable recovery from this pandemic.”
The funding, she said, will “make a big impact, helping tenants who otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay their rent.”
Janey said the money will help families pay for utilities, including Internet access, a crucial tool during the pandemic. At a time when many tenants are under financial stress and unable to pay rent, the city is encouraging landlords and tenants to communicate and work together to reach agreement, she said.
Janey said the Rental Relief Fund has provided critical support to nearly 1,900 households that were at risk of eviction due to COVID-19.
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“These new funds,” she said, “will do even more.”
More information on the fund is available on the city’s website.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.