Massachusetts health officials on Tuesday reported 1,116 new COVID cases and 12 new deaths, a number that includes three days over the weekend.
In total, there have been 1,569,840 cases and 19,018 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The state reported 237 people hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Tuesday's data release, with 82 of them being primary cases. Of the total hospitalizations, 27 are in intensive care and 20 are intubated.
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The state's seven-day average positivity rate came in at 2.67% Tuesday, compared to 2.40% on Monday.
Data on breakthrough COVID-19 cases, which is usually available on Tuesdays, was not posted on time this week.
Massachusetts' COVID metrics, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, have declined since the omicron surge, but case counts are starting to increase once again. That case increase has not, at least for now, corresponded with any dramatic increase in deaths. The state health officials reported zero COVID-19 deaths on Monday.
There has been an uptick in COVID-19 levels found in wastewater tested by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's tracking system. The levels remain nowhere near where they were during the peak of the omicron surge, though they do reflect an increase that is hitting levels seen in February.
Hospitalizations and deaths in the state remain relatively low.
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.
There are concerns about the so-called "stealth" omicron variant BA.2. Increases in cases abroad are raising concerns that the U.S. could soon experience another COVID-19 wave. However, medical officials don't expect that the rise of BA.2 will result in a spike in cases similar to the omicron surge late last year into early 2022, though they still urge caution.
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 over 342,000 Johnson & Johnson one-dose shots. Over 2.9 million booster shots have been administered.
Health officials on Tuesday reported that a total of 5,329,930 Massachusetts residents have been fully vaccinated.
