Massachusetts reported 431 new confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday and an additional 13 deaths.
There have now been 8,670 deaths and 115,741 cases confirmed, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, ticked down to 1.2%, a new low, according to the department's daily COVID-19 report.
The total number of coronavirus deaths in the daily COVID-19 report, however, is listed as 8,901, which would indicate there are 231 more deaths that are considered probable at this time.
The coronavirus prompted Boston officials to announce Friday that the public school year, already pushed back to mid-September, will begin with remote learning only.
"We feel this is the best approach to educate our children," Mayor Marty Walsh added. "It creates a staggered approach for our students to return to the classroom in a safe and careful way."
Boston teachers, along with teachers around Massachusetts, have been arguing that there weren't adequate safety measures in classrooms to keep themselves safe, or their students and their families.
But Gov. Charlie Baker has argued that it's safe for students to return to schools, at least part time, in communities where coronavirus transmission is low enough.
