The number of coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts has quadrupled over the last five days, according to the latest figures released Friday by the state's Department of Public Health.
The state reported 38 new deaths on Friday, bringing the statewide total to 192. That's four times the 48 deaths that were reported on Sunday, just five days earlier.
The state also announced 1,436 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday for a total of 10,402. More than 60,000 people have now been tested for coronavirus in Massachusetts.
The majority of those infected continue to be in MIddlesex, Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk counties.
The number of females infected is now 5,359, compared to 4,974 males.
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The age ranges of those who have tested positive varies widely. There are 226 people age 19 and under; 1,571 people between the ages of 20 and 29; 1,776 between 30 and 39; 1,712 between 40 and 49; 2,022 between 50 and 59; 1,439 between 60 and 69; and 1,653 who are 70 or older.
On Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced a new initiative aiming to comprehensively track the spread of the coronavirus in the state.
The COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative is a ground-breaking partnership not yet seen anywhere in the United States, Baker said. Using a virtual call center staffed by nearly 1,000 people, it will attempt to reach out to the close contacts of every person who tests positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
"By monitoring and isolating through an enhanced community tracing program, our state can be positioned to reduce the number of new cases in the long run," Baker said during a news conference.
The latest models show the state could see up to 172,000 coronavirus cases when the surge hits sometime between April 10 and April 20.
Baker said the collaborative's work will offer "a much more robust, targeted approach" to mitigate the spread of the disease amid that crush of cases by keeping people who may be infected but not yet know it from exposing others.
