Massachusetts health officials reported 967 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 49 more deaths on Tuesday.
It's the first time the state reported fewer than 1,000 new positive cases in a day since early November. However, that may be because the report comes after a holiday weekend -- the number of tests conducted was down in Tuesday's report and the positivity rate increased from the day before.
There have now been totals of 531,702 confirmed cases and 15,257 deaths in the Bay State, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 310 deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19.
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Generally, Massachusetts' coronavirus metrics have been trending down in the past several weeks, according to the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, with the average number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths peaking in the second week of January. The testing rate peaked Jan. 1. The figures reported daily are important for tracking trends with the virus' spread, though a single-day change may not reflect a larger trend, and may reflect incomplete data.
The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, ticked up to 2.22% from 2.19%.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 decreased to 1,096. Of that number, 275 were listed as being in intensive care units and 177 were intubated, according to health officials.
The number of estimated active cases declined to 42,395 from 45,833 on Monday.
Also on Tuesday, the mass vaccination site at Worcester State University was set to open up, though the morning's appointments were canceled amid bad weather and pushed to Saturday.
