Mass. deaths up 7, hospitalizations down

Massachusetts health officials on Monday reported seven new coronavirus deaths and 289 new cases, as statewide hospitalizations dropped and the average positive test rate held steady below 2%.

The seven new coronavirus deaths bring the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 8,536, the state Department of Public Health announced. The three-day average of coronavirus daily deaths has dropped from 161 at the start of May to 14 now.

The state has logged 115,926 cases of the highly contagious disease, an increase of 182 confirmed cases and 107 probable cases since Saturday. Of the 115,926 total cases, at least 96,452 people have recovered.

Coronavirus hospitalizations went down by 14 patients, bringing the state’s COVID-19 hospitalization total to 350. Overall, the statewide hospitalization total has declined by 3,212 since May 5.

There are 57 patients in the ICU, and 28 patients are currently intubated.

The highest peak of Massachusetts’ coronavirus hospitalizations was 3,965 on April 21. The threeday average of the number of coronavirus hospitalizations has gone from 3,707 on May 1 to 362 now.

An additional 10,291 tests have brought the state’s total to more than 1.4 million tests. The sevenday weighted average of the state’s positive test rate has declined from 16.6% on May 1 to 1.9%.

The state reported 24,059 residents and health care workers at long-term care facilities have now contracted the virus, with 371 facilities reporting at least one case of COVID-19.

Of the state’s 8,536 total coronavirus deaths, 5,437 are connected to long-term care facilities.

The U.S. has recorded more than 4.2 million coronavirus cases — the most cases in the world. More than 147,000 Americans have died, and more than 1.2 million have recovered.

There are more than 16.3 million confirmed cases worldwide and more than 650,000 deaths. More than 9.4 million people have recovered.