Coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts long-term care facilities cross 8,000, state reports 2,781 new cases

Public health officials reported 2,781 new coronavirus cases and 98 more deaths on Friday, as the number of fatalities linked to long-term care facilities crossed 8,000.

There have now been 8,030 deaths linked to confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases in long-term care facilities, according to the Department of Public Health.

Deaths in long-term care facilities account for more than half of the state’s death toll.

The 98 new fatalities reported statewide on Friday bring the Bay State’s toll from confirmed COVID-19 cases to 14,154. With deaths from probable cases included, that total rises to 14,444.

There have also now been 421 long-term care facilities that have reported at least one confirmed or probable COVID-19 case. There have been 33,777 cases among residents and workers in those settings.

Other key metrics the state is tracking showed positive signs on Friday.

Friday’s tally of 2,781 new confirmed cases follows 4,222 cases on Thursday, Wednesday’s tally of 3,022 cases, Tuesday’s 2,215 cases, Monday’s 3,477 cases and Sunday’s 3,750 cases.

The seven-day average of confirmed cases has plunged from 6,240 on Jan. 8 to 2,411 now.

There were an estimated 74,595 active cases on Friday, down from 78,171 on Thursday and nearly 100,000 earlier this month.

There have been a total of 491,642 confirmed coronavirus cases in the commonwealth. Another 337 probable cases were reported on Friday, for a combined total of 517,252.

The seven-day average positive test rate — removing higher education — receded to 6.2% on Friday. It peaked at 9.4% earlier in January.

The seven-day average number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 has decreased from 2,347 patients on Jan. 7 to 1,950 patients now. There were 1,789 patients hospitalized on Friday, including 412 in intensive care units and 248 who are intubated.

The U.S. reported 25.8 million coronavirus cases and 435,700 deaths as of Friday afternoon, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2Mgo8ka