Bay State cases up 986

Daily total is highest since the spring

Massachusetts health officials on Thursday reported 986 cases, the highest count since the spring, while 30 more people died from the virus.

The Thursday case count of 986 cases comes after a recent upward trend in cases — Monday’s 827 cases, Tuesday’s 821 cases and Wednesday’s 646 cases.

The 30 new coronavirus deaths bring the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 9,810, the state Department of Public Health said. The threeday average of coronavirus daily deaths has dropped from a peak of 161 in May to 16 now.

The state has logged 147,215 cases of the highly contagious disease, an increase of 986 confirmed cases and 63 probable cases since Wednesday. Of the 147,215 total cases, at least 122,856 people have recovered.

The daily percentage of tested individuals who are positive continues to remain high. That figure at the start of September was between 1% and 2%, but the rate was 4% on Monday, 4.9% on Tuesday and 5% on Wednesday — the most recent day of available data.

The seven-day weighted average of the state’s positive test rate ticked up from 1.3% on Wednesday to 1.4% on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, the state’s Department of Education reported that a total of 202 staff and students have tested positive for coronavirus in the past week, an increase of 42 cases from the week prior. Since the beginning of the school year, a total of 622 cases have been reported in Massachusetts schools.

Statewide coronavirus hospitalizations on Thursday went up by two patients, bringing the state’s COVID19 hospitalization total to 521.

The highest peak of Massachusetts’ coronavirus hospitalizations was 3,965 on April 21. The three-day average of coronavirus hospitalizations has jumped from 308 last month to 519 now.

The state reported 25,428 residents and health care workers at long-term care facilities have now contracted the virus.

Of the state’s 9,810 total coronavirus deaths, 6,314 are connected to long-term care facilities.

More than 222,000 Americans have died. The country’s death toll is the highest in the world, which eclipsed 1 million deaths last week worldwide.

The U.S. has recorded more than 8.3 million coronavirus cases — also the most in the world. More than 3.3 million people have recovered.