Massachusetts health officials reported 4,002 new COVID-19 cases Monday, a number that includes the weekend, and 13 new deaths.
In total, there have been 1,742,140 cases and 19,551 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The state reported 550 people hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Monday's data release, with 182 being primary cases. Of the total hospitalizations, 50 are in intensive care and 14 are intubated.
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Massachusetts' COVID metrics, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, had been trending up in recent weeks, but the latest numbers seem to reflect a decline in the spring bump.
Only three of Massachusetts' 14 counties are now considered high risk for COVID-19, down from four last week and 12 two weeks ago, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This latest increase is being attributed to subvariants of omicron — first, it was the "stealth" omicron variant BA.2, and more recently the BA.2. 12.1 subvariant, which health officials say appears to be more contagious than BA.2. However, there is no data to indicate it causes more serious illness.
The state's seven-day average positivity was at 5.61% Monday, compared to 6.53% on Friday.
This spring bump was well below the types of case counts and hospitalizations seen at height of the omicron surge in January, when average daily case counts reached over 28,000 and hospitalizations peaked at around 3,300.
COVID levels in wastewater, as reported by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's tracking system have also started to signal declines. The levels of virus seen in the wastewater also remain nowhere near where they were during the peak of the omicron surge.
Experts have also said that case count reporting became a less accurate indicator during the omicron surge, given the difficulties in getting tested. Now, widespread use of rapid tests means that some results go unreported.
Almost 14.9 million vaccine doses have now been administered in Massachusetts.
Health officials on Monday reported that a total of 5,397,236 Massachusetts residents have been fully vaccinated.
