Massachusetts reported 10 new coronavirus deaths and 303 new cases, including confirmed and probable ones.
Of those deaths, all are in people with confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. And 203 of the newly reported cases are confirmed, with the remaining 100 listed as probable.
The state's total death toll stands at 8,340 (8,125 of them confirmed) and the total number of COVID-19 cases detected at 112,130 (105,986 confirmed), according to the Department of Public Health's latest daily report.
The Department of Public Health last week changed how it reports coronavirus deaths, separating confirmed and probable cases after it had earlier combined them. The move was made to improve how it is read, bringing its report more in line with other states, for users including organizations that aggregate states' COVID-19 data, the department said.
Massachusetts' coronavirus outbreak is much less severe than it was in mid-April, at the height of the virus' surge. Closely watched metrics like how many coronavirus tests are coming back positive and the average number of hospital patients with COVID-19 remain roughly 90% lower.
With a few exceptions, Massachusetts is now in Phase 3, the final step in its reopening plan before the so-called "new normal" is reached, when a vaccine or effective treatment will allow all COVID-19 restrictions to be eased. The state has been slowly reopening for months, monitoring for any outbreaks that would risk the progress made so far.
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. Their statuses have held steady, with half in a positive trend and half "in progress" since June 5.
