Second doses cross half million
41 new deaths, 1,516 new cases
Massachusetts health officials on Saturday reported 41 new confirmed coronavirus deaths and 1,516 new cases as the state now has more than half a million people fully inoculated.
The state reported 48,640 new vaccine shots — a combination of first and second doses — bringing the total number of second doses above 500,000, to 504,304 people who are inoculated. The state has administered 1,166,889 first doses, and has put 1,671,193 of the total 2,047,960 doses it’s received — 81.6% — into arms.
The count of estimated active cases in the Bay State is now 30,111, a significant decline from 98,750 at the start of the year and a number that continues to drop.
The seven-day average of confirmed cases is now 1,178, down from an average of 6,241 cases in the first week of January.
The positive test rate has continued to trend downward, now at 3% with higher-education institutions excluded. With them included, the rate drops to 1.8%
The 41 new confirmed deaths — plus another two probable virus deaths — brings the state’s total recorded death toll to 16,067. The seven-day average of daily deaths is now 36.6, compared to 77 daily deaths a couple of weeks ago. That figure peaked at 175 daily deaths in late April.
The 1,516 new confirmed and 184 new probable cases bring the total in the state to 579,680 since the start of the pandemic.
Statewide hospitalizations have also been decreasing, on Saturday dropping by 22 patients to a total of 785. The state reported 204 people in ICUs and 139 on ventilators.
The seven-day average of the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 has declined from 2,347 patients at the start of January to an average of 873 patients now.
Long-term care facilities account for 34,686 of the state’s COVID-19 cases and 8,569 of its deaths. A total of 424 such facilities have seen a resident or worker come down with the highly contagious disease.
The virus has sickened 28.5 million people in the United States and killed 511,764 nationwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Across the globe, 113 million cases and 2.5 million deaths have been reported.