Massachusetts health officials reported 980 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 37 more deaths on Tuesday as the number of active cases of the virus dropped under 30,000.
There have now been totals of 551,667 confirmed cases and 15,859 deaths in the Bay State, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 323 deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19.
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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.
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The number of estimated active cases declined to 28,867 from 30,486 on Monday. It's the lowest that COVID metric has been in Massachusetts since mid-November, the start of the most recent surge.
The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, rose slightly to 1.82% from 1.77%.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 dipped to 775. Of that number, 187 were listed as being in intensive care units and 116 were intubated, according to health officials.
Also on Tuesday, two Massachusetts hospitals said they have received their initial supply of doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine.
