Massachusetts health officials reported 8,480 new COVID-19 cases and 49 new deaths in the last week, with the new data released Thursday.
In total, there have been 1,887,130 cases and 20,341 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state reported 227 people primarily hospitalized for COVID-19 and a total of 758 hospitalized patients who have the virus. Of the total hospitalizations, 72 were in intensive care and 22 were intubated.
Massachusetts' COVID cases, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, were down from the week before. Doctors believe we can expect to see some kind of increase coming into fall, but it is unclear how dramatic the trend might be. They still encourage people to get vaccinated to protect against the virus.
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Massachusetts COVID-19 wastewater data from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has shown rising levels of the virus in recent weeks, which Tufts Medical Center's Dr. Shira Doron called "pretty dramatic" in Tuesday's "COVID Q&A." However, the newest data shows a slight dip in levels.
The state's seven-day average positivity was listed at 7.76% Thursday, compared to 7.71% last week.
This spring bump was well below the types of case counts and hospitalizations seen at height of the omicron surge in January, when average daily case counts reached over 28,000 and hospitalizations peaked at around 3,300.
COVID levels in wastewater, as reported by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's tracking system show numbers in the Boston area relatively steady.
Experts have said that case count reporting became a less accurate indicator during the omicron surge, given the difficulties in getting tested. Now, widespread use of rapid tests means that some results go unreported.
More than 15 million vaccine doses have now been administered in Massachusetts.
