Massachusetts confirmed 23 new deaths and 1,488 more coronavirus cases Friday, marking the seventh straight day the state has announced more than 1,000 daily COVID-19 cases.
The new case count marks a high-water mark for the season.
There have now been 9,750 confirmed deaths and 153,229 cases, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, has increased to 1.9%, according to the report.
The total number of coronavirus deaths in the daily COVID-19 report, however, is listed as 9,975, which would indicate there are 225 more deaths that are considered probable at this time.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 has decreased to 571. Of that number, 106 were listed as being in intensive care units and 47 are intubated, according to DPH.
The latest weekly community-level data on the coronavirus pandemic, including the updated town-by-town COVID-19 risk assessment map, shows 121 communities now considered at the highest risk for transmitting the virus, an increase of 44 from last week.
Last week's report from DPH was revamped to include data on isolated outbreaks, requiring its release to be moved back from Wednesdays to Thursdays. The report showed 77 communities considered at the highest risk for transmitting COVID-19, an increase of 14 from the previous week.
The following communities are in the highest risk level as of Thursday: Abington, Acushnet, Agawam, Ashland, Athol, Attleboro, Avon, Bedford, Bellingham, Berkley, Beverly, Billerica, Blandford, Bolton, Boston , Boxford , Braintree, Bridgewater*, Brimfield, Brockton, Buckland, Canton , Chelmsford*, Chelsea , Chicopee, Clinton , Cohasset, Danvers, Dartmouth, Dedham , Dighton, Dover, Dracut, East Brdgewater, East Longmeadow, Everett, Fairhaven*, Fall River, Fitchburg, Foxborough, Framingham, Freetown, Gardner, Georgetown, Gloucester, Granby, Hanover, Hanson, Haverhill, Hingham, Holliston, Holyoke, Hubbardston, Hudson, Kingston*, Lakeville, Lawrence, Leicester, Leominster, Littleton, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Mansfield, Marlborough, Marshfield, Medford, Mendon, Methuen, Middleton, Milford, Nahant, Nantucket, New Bedford, Newburyport, North Andover*, North Attleborough, Northborough, Norton, Norwood, Palmer, Peabody, Pembroke, Plymouth, Randolph, Raynham, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Salisbury, Saugus, Seekonk, Shrewsbury, Somerset*, Southborough, Springfield, Swansea, Taunton, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Waltham, Wareham, Webster, West Boylston, West Bridgewater, West Springfield, Westborough, Westfield, Westport, Westwood, Weymouth, Whitman, Wilmington, Winchester, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester and Wrentham.
The asterisks indicate that a local institution accounts for at least 11 cases in the community and those cases make up 30% or more of the community's total cases over the last two weeks, according to data provided by DPH.
