Health officials in Massachusetts reported another 2,292 cases of COVID-19 and 21 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the state's death toll above 17,000.
The update puts the total of confirmed cases at 611,825 and the death toll at 17,014, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 344 deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19.
Both the average number of coronavirus cases and average coronavirus test positivity reported each day have been slowly rising since about mid-March, after steady declines from the start of the year, according to the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard. In late March, the number of hospitalizations started to rise as well.
On Wednesday, the seven-day average positive was at 2.46%, down slightly from Tuesday.
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The number of patients in Massachusetts hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by 30 to 755. Among those patients, 179 were listed as being in intensive care units and 105 were intubated.
Health officials' projection of active COVID-19 cases increased, from 34,652 on Tuesday to 35,075 on Wednesday.
According to Wednesday's vaccine report, 1,571,073 Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated against the virus.
More than 4.1 million total doses have been administered in the state, including 2,540,254 first-dose shots of either Pfizer of Moderna. Over 110,000 Bay State residents have now received Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine.
Also Wednesday, Northeastern University in Boston announced it will require students who return to campus in the fall to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
