Coronavirus

Mass. Confirms 600 More Coronavirus Cases, 17 New Deaths

There have now been 9,292 confirmed deaths and 131,814 cases, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health

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Massachusetts reported 600 new confirmed coronavirus cases Saturday and an additional 17 deaths.

There have now been 9,292 confirmed deaths and 131,814 cases, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, remains at 1.1%, according to the report.

The total number of coronavirus deaths in the daily COVID-19 report, however, is listed as 9,507, which would indicate there are 215 more deaths that are considered probable at this time.

The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 has decreased to 416. Of that number, 75 were listed as being in intensive care units and 27 are intubated, according to DPH.

The new numbers come a few hours after it was reported by ESPN that Patriots quarterback Cam Newton is among those to contract the disease.

The Patriots confirmed late Saturday morning that a player has tested positive but did not reveal his name.

The NFL has postponed this week's game between New England and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs after "positive COVID-19 tests on both teams." The NFL says the game originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon will be played Monday or Tuesday.

The Patriots had been planning to fly to Kansas City on Saturday afternoon. Instead, players left Gillette Stadium in Foxboro to await further instructions.

The team said in a statement that the COVID-positive player has entered self-quarantine and that players, coaches and staff who were in close contact with him were tested Saturday morning and all were negative.

Earlier this week, Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty said the league might have grown overconfident after making it through training camps and the first two weeks of the season without a major outbreak.

"But at the end of the day, we are in a pandemic," he said. "So what happened in Tennessee, although it kind of shocks us, it's not really surprising. I think we all knew at some point we might get some positive tests."

"So it's like, 'We got this,''' McCourty said. "I think this is just a little shocker, but it's also a wakeup call, like `Hey, the virus is still here and it will affect any and everybody. It doesn't care that we're trying to play football.'''

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