Massachusetts confirmed 19 new coronavirus deaths and 968 new cases Friday, health officials said.
The numbers from the Department of Public Health show a continued increase in the number of cases being reported in Massachusetts this fall. The 986 cases reported in the commonwealth Thursday were the most in a single day since late May. Across on Thursday there were a record number of coronavirus cases reported, NBC News found.
See the weekly Massachusetts town-by-town coronavirus risk map here.
In Massachusetts as of Friday, there have now been 9,608 confirmed deaths and 144,895 cases, according to the Department of Public Health. The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, is at 1.4%, according to Friday's report.
The total number of coronavirus deaths in the daily COVID-19 report, however, is listed as 9,830, which would indicate that there are 222 deaths that are considered probably related to the virus at this time.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 rose to 570. Of that number, 125 were listed as being in intensive care units and 43 are intubated, according to the department of health.
More on Coronavirus in Mass.
Late Thursday night, state officials ordered all indoor ice rinks to close Friday at 5 p.m. for two weeks because of several coronavirus clusters linked to hockey games and practices. College and professional hockey programs are exempt from the ruling.
New Hampshire had previously issued a similar order. When hockey can resume, it may require youth hockey players to be tested for the virus before they can play again.
