REGION IN BRIEF

Number of people hospitalized with virus falls below 1,000

BOSTON (AP) — State health officials on Wednesday reported that the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has fallen below 1,000 — or about a quarter of the number hospitalized with the disease in April.

The total number of confirmed and probable deaths in the state attributed to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic has risen to 7,734 with the addition of 69 deaths reported Wednesday.

There were about 266 newly reported cases of the disease reported Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 to more than 106,000.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 fell to 998, down from about 1,684 two weeks ago. The number of people in intensive care units fell to 227, down from 393 two weeks ago.

The number of probable and confirmed COVID-19 deaths at longterm care homes rose to 4,875, or 63% of all deaths in Massachusetts attributed to the disease.

Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday released a capital investment plan for the state that he said maintains existing investments while letting the administration continue working on ongoing long-term projects.

The plan will also help make sure the state is positioned to cope with the short-, medium- and long-term COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, according to Baker.

The plan provides capital investments in all regions of the state in transportation, housing, support for cities and towns, health and human services, higher education and public safety, Baker said.

State examining death of missing vet found in VA hospital

BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — Massachusetts authorities are investigating the death of a 62-year-old military veteran whose body was found in the stairwell of the Bedford Veterans Affairs Medical Center more than a month after he went missing from a residential community on the campus.

The man’s body was found Friday in the same clothes he was wearing when he was last seen May 8, the Middlesex District Attorney’s office announced Tuesday. He was reported missing May 13 by an employee of Caritas Communities, which operates a residential home for veterans on the campus of the VA hospital.

The door to the stairwell where his body was found is in the same building where he was living and is about 20 yards from his room, the district attorney’s office said. His body was found by another resident at the facility, and it appears he had been dead for an “extended period,” the office said.

Investigators will examine the policies and procedures at the facility, as well as the relationship between the hospital and Caritas.

A statement from Caritas said it leases a portion of a building at the hospital to provide housing to formerly homeless veterans. It said the man’s body was found in an emergency exit stairwell that is outside the

Caritas facility and “solely controlled by the VA.”

The man’s identity has not been released. A preliminary report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner suggests there was no trauma, and there is no foul play suspected, the district attorney said.

Officials warn of large jellyfish

Swimmers in Massachusetts are being warned about large jellyfish that have been spotted off the state’s coast.

The Hingham Harbormaster issued a warning Sunday saying numerous lion’s mane jellyfish had been seen in the town’s inner and outer harbor over the weekend. At least one resident has been stung but did not require medical treatment, the warning said.