Coronavirus in Massachusetts: State Reports Lowest Number of Coronavirus Deaths in Months

Massachusetts announced 23 new coronavirus deaths and 87 new cases on Monday, the lowest totals the state has seen in one day since early April.

That brings the state's death toll to 7,647 and the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus to 105,690, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

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The number of newly reported deaths and cases was the lowest since April 5, when 15 COVID-19 deaths were reported.

For months, Massachusetts has been one of the epicenters of COVID-19 in the U.S., and it has the third-most reported deaths of any state in the U.S. But the numbers being reported each day are far lower than what Massachusetts was experiencing in mid-April, at the height of the coronavirus surge.

The state’s seven-day average for positive tests has dropped by 90% in the last two months, while the three-day average of hospitalized patients fell 70% in the same period.

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Gov. Charlie Baker said he continues to be encouraged by the decline in the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests in Massachusetts.

"Our progress to date is encouraging, but it doesn't mean the virus has left town," he said.

The six indicators informing how fast Massachusetts can move through the four phases of reopening the state are: the COVID-19 positive test rate, the number of individuals who died from COVID-19, the number of patients with COVID-19 in hospitals, the health care system's readiness, testing capacity, contact tracing capabilities.

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Half of them were trending in a positive direction as of Monday The state's hospitalized coronavirus patient population is hovering around 1,000 after descending steadily from nearly 4,000.

The state is now in Phase 2 of its reopening plan, which sees many businesses able to reopen their doors, though with restrictions.

Some have expressed concerns that mass protests in Boston and across the state over the past two weeks could lead to a spike in positive test results. Baker announced earlier Monday that the state was opening 52 free pop-up testing sites across Massachusetts and encouraged anyone who attended a protest or other large gathering to get tested.