COVID in MA: 1,260 New Cases, 16 More Deaths

Health officials in Massachusetts reported another 1,260 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 16 more deaths on Thursday.

The update puts the total of confirmed cases at 644,688 and the death toll at 17,243, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 351 deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19.

The average number of coronavirus cases, average coronavirus test positivity and average number of confirmed deaths reported each day have been falling since the end of March, according to trends posted to the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard.

On Thursday, the seven-day average of positive tests was at 1.63%, a slight decrease after holding steady around 1.71% for several days.

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Massachusetts is struggling through the coronavirus pandemic, but it's not the first outbreak to hit our state over the last few centuries. We'll take you through the history and how what happened to the diseases and viruses that have hurt us before.

The number of patients in Massachusetts hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 cases dropped to 590. Among those patients, 155 were listed as being in intensive care units and 89 were intubated.

Health officials' projection of active COVID-19 cases decreased to 26,410 on Thursday from 27,321 on Wednesday.

According to Thursday's vaccine report, nearly 2.48 million Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated against the virus.

Nearly 6 million total doses have now been administered in the state, including more than 3.5 million first-dose shots of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.