Massachusetts health officials reported 3,004 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 76 more deaths on Sunday, while also finding that under 3% of tests are returning positive for the first time since November.
There have now been totals of 516,530 confirmed cases and 14,698 deaths in the Bay State, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 301 deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19.
Generally, Massachusetts' coronavirus metrics have been trending down in the past several weeks, according to the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, with the average number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths peaking in the second week of January. The testing rate peaked Jan. 1. The figures reported daily are important for tracking trends with the virus' spread, though a single-day change may not reflect a larger trend, and may reflect incomplete data.
The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, decreased to 2.96% from 3.11% the previous day. It's the first time that metric was below 3% since Nov. 9, according to the dashboard.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 has dropped to 1,389. Of that number, 318 were listed as being in intensive care units and 191 were intubated, according to health officials.
The number of estimated active cases rose to 59,162 on Sunday, from 58,768 Saturday.
As coronavirus case levels and hospitalizations subsides, increased capacity limits on Massachusetts restaurants, gyms and other businesses are set to take effect Monday.
While metrics may be going down statewide, there is a surge at the The University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The university revealed Sunday that the campus risk level has been raised and all athletics are being paused for at least two weeks.
The risk level is being raised from "elevated" to "high," effective 2 p.m. Sunday and will stay at that level for at least two weeks, UMass said in a statement.
