Massachusetts health officials on Monday reported 24,512 new COVID-19 cases and 78 new deaths, data that includes three days due to the weekend.
This pushes the state's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 1,442,661 since the start of the pandemic and its death toll to 20,962. The case numbers are significantly down from the peaking numbers earlier this month. State health officials reported a single-day record on Jan. 5, topping 27,000 cases, followed by the second-highest single-day total on Jan. 7, with more than 26,000 cases.
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Massachusetts' COVID metrics, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, have been trending downward after spiking to heights not seen since previous surges, a peak thought to be driven at least in part by the omicron variant.
Massachusetts' seven-day average of positive tests was at 11.72% Monday, down from Friday, which continues a downward trend started after the state hit a recent high of 23% on Jan. 5. The highest recorded seven-day average test positivity in Massachusetts stands at over 31% on March 8, 2020.
Experts have said that case count reporting may be a less accurate indicator during the omicron surge, given the difficulties in getting tested and widespread use of rapid tests that go unreported. Officials also warn that health care systems are still under great pressure from the influx of COVID-19 patients and related staffing shortages.
On Monday, the state reported 2,984 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 433 in intensive care and 254 intubated.
The state just last week released a new breakdown of virus hospitalizations, data that indicates whether COVID-19 is the primary cause of hospitalization, or incidental. This new information shows that while there were more than 3,000 patients in hospitals with COVID-19 last Thursday, just under 50% of those cases were for other causes.
More than 13.4 million vaccine doses have now been administered in Massachusetts, as of Monday's vaccine report. This includes more than 5.6 million first doses of Pfizer or Moderna, 4.8 million second doses, and 2.6 million booster doses. More than 338,000 one-dose Johnson & Johnson shots have been administered in Massachusetts.
Health officials report that a total of 5,180,019 Massachusetts residents have been fully vaccinated.
