Massachusetts health officials reported another 146 confirmed COVID cases and four more deaths Sunday, while the average positive test rate continues to drop to new lows.
The new numbers pushed the state's confirmed case total to 661,115 and the death toll to 17,508 since the start of the pandemic.
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Massachusetts' COVID metrics, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, have fallen far enough that the state's COVID-related business restrictions ended on Saturday, and the state of emergency declaration is set to expire June 15.
On Sunday, Massachusetts' seven-day average of positive tests dropped to 0.66% from 0.69%, the lowest average recorded since Massachusetts began publishing the data on May 25, 2020. In the fall, the figure dipped as low as .77% in September, state health data shows.
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The number of patients in Massachusetts hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 cases stayed level at 236. Of those currently hospitalized, 74 are listed as being in intensive care units and 39 are intubated.
Health officials' projection of active COVID-19 cases decreased to 6,702 on Sunday from 6,892 on Saturday.
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More than 7.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts as of Sunday, including over 4.1 million first doses and more than 3.4 million second doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. There have been more than 250,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered.
Health officials reported that 3,653,148 Bay State residents had been fully vaccinated as of Saturday. Gov. Charlie Baker is aiming to reach 4.1 million fully vaccinated by the first of June.
