Health officials in Massachusetts reported another 1,831 cases of the new coronavirus and eight new deaths on Sunday.
The update puts the total of confirmed cases at 619,885 and the death toll at 17,042, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 345deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
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 Sunday, the seven-day average of positive tests was at 2.2%, down from Saturday.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
The number of patients in Massachusetts hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 cases increased to 698. Among those patients, 172 were listed as being in intensive care units and 100 were intubated.
Health officials' projection of active COVID-19 cases rose to 36,466 on Sunday from 35,847 on Saturday.
According to Sunday's vaccine report, 1,765,666 Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated against the virus.
More than 4.5 million total doses have now been administered in the state, including 2,735,963 first-dose shots of either Pfizer of Moderna. Over 170,000 Bay State residents have now received Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine.
This week, Massachusetts and other U.S. states will see a drop in the number of single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses delivered after the pharmaceutical company disposed of 15 million doses produced at Baltimore plant Emergent BioSolutions over quality control issues.
