Massachusetts public health officials reported 1,577 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 29 more deaths on Friday.
The update brings the totals to 565,560 confirmed cases and 16,247 deaths, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 333 deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19.
Generally, Massachusetts' coronavirus metrics have been trending downward in the past several weeks, according to the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, with the average number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths peaking in the second week of January. The testing rate peaked Jan. 1. The figures reported daily are important for tracking trends with the virus' spread, though a single-day change may not reflect a larger trend, and may reflect incomplete data.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, ticked up to 1.77% from 1.72%.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 decreased to 641. Of that number, 170 were listed as being in intensive care units and 116 were intubated, according to health officials.
The number of estimated active cases dipped to 25,858 from 25,901 on Thursday.
Also on Friday, Massachusetts' COVID-19 vaccine preregistration system for mass vaccination sites went live. About 200,000 people had already preregistered by Friday morning, Gov. Charlie Baker said at a news conference.
