Bay State COVID cases increase by 1,583
Hospitalizations tick down
Massachusetts health officials on Friday reported 1,583 new coronavirus cases and 16 new deaths, as hospitalizations tick down.
Infections have been higher due to the more highly contagious delta variant, but daily case tallies have been lower in the past two weeks. The 1,583 new virus cases now bring the daily average of infections to 998. The daily average was 1,895 three weeks ago.
The daily average percent positivity has been ticking down in recent weeks. The percent positivity is now 1.80%, compared to 2.98% last month.
State health officials reported 16 new COVID deaths, bringing the state’s total recorded death toll to 18,745.
The daily average of deaths has been climbing. The average is now 10.4, up from the record-low death count of 1.3 in mid-July.
COVID hospitalizations went down by nine patients, bringing the total to 562 patients.
The seven-day average of hospitalizations is 587, slightly below tallies above 600 in late September into the first days of October.
Hospitalizations hit a peak in the early days of the pandemic and were nearing 4,000 in April 2020.
There are now 147 patients in intensive care units, and 93 patients are currently intubated.
Of the 562 total patients, 179 patients are fully vaccinated — or about 31%. Those who are unvaccinated are at a much higher risk for a severe case.
As of Friday, 4.65 million people in Massachusetts have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus, which is about 66% of the state. About 4.85 million people have gotten at least one dose, which is 69% of the population.
Pfizer booster shots became available late last month. The state reported that 173,438 people have received a booster.
Those who are currently eligible for a booster are people 65-plus, those who are immunocompromised or have certain medical conditions, and people facing workplace exposure.