Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday he was considering greater restrictions in supermarkets to keep customers and employees safe.
Another 77 people with the new coronavirus have died in Massachusetts, health officials reported Wednesday, along with 1,588 new cases.
Wednesday's numbers from the Department of Public Health bring the state's total number of coronavirus cases to 16,790 and deaths to 433. They also include information on the race and ethnicity of the state's cases for the first time.
The majority of cases have yet to establish race or ethnic data, according to Wednesday's release. The race or ethnicity of 53% of confirmed coronavirus cases is unknown and is missing in another 16% of cases, according to the data.
Sixteen percent of confirmed cases and 23% of deaths involve white people who are not Hispanic; white people make up 81% of the state's population, according to the U.S. Census.
It's a smaller increase in deaths than the nearly 100 reported Tuesday, which the Department of Public Health noted had taken place over several days and required time to confirm.
The rate of deaths and coronavirus transmission may yet increase. Last week, Gov. Charlie Baker said the state was expecting as many as 172,000 coronavirus cases in Massachusetts over the course of the pandemic, with a potential peak in hospitalizations between April 10 and April 20.
Also Wednesday, Massachusetts announced new, stricter regulations for grocery stores, in an effort to mitigate the spread of the deadly virus.
