Massachusetts health officials reported another 1,726 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 18 new deaths Friday.
The report pushed the state's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 725,359 since the start of the pandemic and its death toll to 17,972. Thursday's report was the first time more than 2,000 cases were confirmed in a single day since April 14, and the most in a single day since April 10.
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Massachusetts' COVID metrics, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, dashboard, are far lower than they were in spring, and while all of the major ones have risen from their lowest points, some have dipped in recent weeks.
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Massachusetts' seven-day average of positive tests ticked up to 2.52% Friday. It was once above 30%, but had dropped under 0.5% until the delta variant began surging in the state.
The number of patients in Massachusetts hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 cases rose slightly to 624; the figure was once nearly 4,000, but averaged under 85 at one point in July. Of those currently hospitalized, 181 are fully vaccinated, 168 are in intensive care units and 86 are intubated.
Nearly 9.3 million vaccine doses have been administered in Massachusetts. That includes more than 4.7 million first shots and above 4.2 million second shots of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. There have been more than 305,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered.
Health officials on Friday reported that a total of 4,545,046 Massachusetts residents have been fully vaccinated.
