State stats continue on improved path

Fewer deaths, drop in new cases seen in daily DPH report

Coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts rose by 44 on Monday as the state reported 596 new cases as key coronavirus metrics continue a downward trend.

A total of 93,271 cases of coronavirus cases have been reported in the state and 6,416 people have died from the highly infectious virus, according to Department of Public Health data.

To date, 540,561 tests for the novel coronavirus have been conducted in Massachusetts including 8,188 new tests that were reported Monday. The positive testing rate was 9%. The three-day average for COVID-19 tests returning a positive diagnosis dropped to 8.9% — the lowest since the pandemic began, according to DPH data.

There are 2,132 people in Massachusetts currently hospitalized for the coronavirus — 2% of all cases, a decrease from last month when roughly 5% of people positive for the novel coronavirus were hospitalized.

There are 576 coronavirus patients in Massachusetts currently in hospital intensive care units. The average age of a Massachusetts person with coronavirus is 52, the DPH data shows, and the average age of a hospitalized coronavirus patient is 68. The average age among people who have died from COVID19is82.

Long-term-care facilities continue to bear the brunt of the casualties related to the virus. Roughly 61% of all deaths reported statewide — 3,924 — happened at longterm care facilities as of Monday, according to state health officials. Infections among residents and employees total 19,742 and account for about 21% of all cases statewide.

Middlesex County has the most confirmed cases in Massachusetts with 20,539 cases, followed by Suffolk County with 17,480 cases.

The U.S. has seen a total of more than 1.6 million coronavirus cases since the outbreak began, according to the John’s Hopkins University coronavirus tracking center. Worldwide, 5.4 million have contracted the disease.

Nearly 98,000 Americans have died and 366,736 have recovered.