Report finds state stats improving

Massachusetts health officials on Friday reported that 110 more people have died from the coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases increased by 1,239.

The 110 new deaths bring the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 5,592, the state Department of Public Health announced.

The state now has 83,421 confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease, an increase of 1,239 cases since Thursday. That daily total — and much of the data released Friday — continues a downward trend from the peak of cases, deaths and hospitalizations in mid-to-late April.

Coronavirus hospitalizations dropped considerably again, a decrease of 92, bringing the statewide total to 2,767. That’s the lowest number of hospitalizations in two months, and is 3% of all cases — including 749 patients are currently in the ICU, a number that continues to drop.

The state reported 17,744 residents and health-care workers at long-term care facilities have now contracted the virus, with 342 facilities reporting at least one case of COVID-19.

Of the state’s 5,592 total coronavirus deaths, 3,414 deaths are connected to long-term care facilities.

Middlesex County has the most infections in the state, with 18,683, with Suffolk, which includes Boston, second with 15,996. Suffolk has a higher rate than Middlesex.

An additional 11,318 tests have brought the state’s total to 435,679 tests. Of the new tests, 11% came back positive. That daily number is a drop from Thursday’s more than 14,000, but is much higher than the low testing numbers of below 7,000 for a couple of days earlier in the week.

The average age of the people testing positive for the disease in Massachusetts is 53, and is 68 for people hospitalized with it. The average age of people who have died of the disease here is 82.

The U.S. has recorded more than 1.4 million coronavirus cases — the most in the world. More than 86,000 Americans have died, and more than 243,000 have recovered.

There are more than 4.5 million confirmed cases worldwide and more than 300,000 deaths. More than 1.5 million people have recovered.