Massachusetts on Sunday reported 208 new cases of the novel coronavirus, including 48 fatalities.
It brings the state's death toll to 7,624 and the total number of people who've tested positive for the virus to 105,603, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
The number of newly reported cases was well below the daily average of the previous week, which stood at 325, though officials have warned against taking too much stock in daily numbers, especially on the weekend.
The number of death reported Sunday was slightly higher than the daily average of the previous seven days, which stood at 41.
On Friday, the department's daily report revealed that the death toll had topped 7,500. For months, Massachusetts has been one of the epicenters of COVID-19 in the U.S., and it has the third-most reported deaths of any state in the U.S.
Still, the numbers being reported each day are far lower than what Massachusetts was experiencing in mid-April, at the height of the coronavirus surge, and officials are hoping to keep it that way as Gov. Charlie Baker cautiously reopens the state.
The six indicators informing how fast Massachusetts can move through the four phases of reopening the state are: the COVID-19 positive test rate, the number of individuals who died from COVID-19, the number of patients with COVID-19 in hospitals, the health care system's readiness, testing capacity, contact tracing capabilities.
Half of them were trending in a positive direction as of Sunday. The state's hospitalized coronavirus patient population is approaching 1,000 after descending steadily from nearly 4,000.
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The state is now in Phase 2 of its reopening plan, which sees many businesses able to reopen their doors, though with restrictions.
Some have expressed concerns that mass protests in Boston and across the state over the past two weeks could lead to a spike in positive test results.
Last week, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh urged those who had participated in protests to seek testing for the virus. The city offered two days of free testing at Washington Park Mall in cooperation with the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center .
Baker and other health officials have said Massachusetts' high tallies may be due to the state testing among the most residents per capita in the country.
