Virus rate resurgent in state; 20 new deaths

Massachusetts health officials on Monday reported 20 new coronavirus deaths and 465 new cases, as the daily positive test rate eclipsed 5%.

The 465 cases was down from the 700-plus cases reported on Thursday and Friday — the highest numbers since spring — but the cases fell as testing also dropped.

The 20 new coronavirus deaths bring the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 9,530, the state Department of Public Health said. The three-day average of coronavirus daily deaths has dropped from 161 in May to 14 now.

The state has logged 135,462 cases of the highly contagious disease, an increase of 465 confirmed cases and 50 probable cases since Sunday. Of the 135,462 total cases, at least 113,768 people have recovered.

The daily percentage of tested individuals who are positive surpassed 5%. That figure at the start of September was between 1%-2%, but the rate was 3.1% on Friday, 3.6% on Saturday and 5.4% on Sunday — the most recent day of available data.

The seven-day weighted average of the Bay State’s positive test rate held steady at 1.1% on Monday.

Coronavirus hospitalizations on Monday went up by 35 patients, bringing the state’s COVID-19 hospitalization total to 473.

There are 88 patients in the ICU, and 33 patients are currently intubated.

The highest peak of Massachusetts’ coronavirus hospitalizations was 3,965 on April 21. The three-day average of coronavirus hospitalizations has increased from 308 three weeks ago to 442 now.

An additional 11,265 tests have brought the state’s total to more than 4.3 million tests.

The state reported 25,104 residents and health care workers at long-term care facilities have now contracted the virus.

Of the state’s 9,530 total coronavirus deaths, 6,147 are connected to long-term care facilities.

More than 210,000 Americans have died. The country’s death toll is the highest in the world, which eclipsed 1 million deaths last week.

The U.S. has recorded more than 7.4 million coronavirus cases — also the most in the world. More than 2.9 million people have recovered.