
Massachusetts health officials announced 1,109 new COVID-19 cases Friday and nine new deaths.
In total, there have been 1,558,358 cases and 18,969 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state reported 222 people hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Friday's data, with 77 of them being primary cases. Of the total hospitalizations, 32 are in intensive care and 19 are intubated.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
The state's seven-day average positivity rate came in at 2.08% Friday, compared to 1.99% on Thursday.
Massachusetts' COVID metrics, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, have declined since the omicron surge at the beginning of the year.
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
Experts have said that case count reporting may be a less accurate indicator during the omicron surge, given the difficulties in getting tested and widespread use of rapid tests that go unreported. Officials also warn that health care systems are still under great pressure from the influx of COVID-19 patients and related staffing shortages.
More than 14 million vaccine doses have now been administered in Massachusetts. That includes more than 5.8 million first doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, 4.9 million second shots, and close to 342,000 Johnson & Johnson one-dose shots. More than 2.9 million booster shots have been administered.
Health officials on Friday reported that a total of 5,317,545 Massachusetts residents have been fully vaccinated.