Massachusetts health officials reported 1,712 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday. The state also confirmed 12 new deaths, a number that includes Saturday through Monday.
In total, there have been 1,580,245 cases and 19,049 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The state reported 262 people hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Tuesday's data release, with 102 of them being primary cases. Of the total hospitalizations, 33 are in intensive care and 15 are intubated.
The state's seven-day average positivity rate rose to 3.42% Tuesday, compared to 3% on Monday.
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Massachusetts has previously released data on breakthrough COVID cases on Tuesdays, but has not released that data in the last two weeks.
Massachusetts' COVID metrics, tracked on the Department of Public Health's interactive coronavirus dashboard, have declined since the omicron surge, but case counts are starting to increase once again. That case increase has not, at least for now, corresponded with any dramatic increase in deaths.
There has been an uptick in COVID-19 levels found in wastewater tested by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's tracking system. The levels remain nowhere near where they were during the peak of the omicron surge, though they do reflect an increase that is hitting levels seen in February.
Hospitalizations and deaths in the state remain relatively low.
Experts have said that case count reporting may be a less accurate indicator during the omicron surge, given the difficulties in getting tested and widespread use of rapid tests that go unreported.
There are concerns about the so-called "stealth" omicron variant BA.2. Increases in cases abroad are raising concerns that the U.S. could soon experience another COVID-19 wave. However, medical officials don't expect that the rise of BA.2 will result in a spike in cases similar to the omicron surge late last year into early 2022, though they still urge caution.
More than 14.2 million vaccine doses have now been administered in Massachusetts. That includes more than 5.8 million first doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, nearly 5 million second shots, and nearly 343,000 Johnson & Johnson one-dose shots. Nearly 3 million booster shots have been administered.
Health officials on Tuesday reported that a total of 5,339,220 Massachusetts residents have been fully vaccinated.
