Massachusetts Board of Education will vote on whether all schools to return to in-person learning by April.
Massachusetts topped 2 million coronavirus vaccine doses administered on Friday, while state health officials reported 1,677 new confirmed cases and 25 more deaths.
That brings the totals to 556,307 confirmed cases and 15,992 deaths, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 330 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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As of Friday, 2,005,800 doses of coronavirus vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts, according to the state's daily report. Of that amount, 646,005 have been second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, while 4,406 Johnson & Johnson doses have been given, meaning about 650,000 people have been fully vaccinated.
A total of 2,420,360 doses have been shipped to Massachusetts, and 83% have been used.
The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, ticked up to 1.82% from 1.75%.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 decreased to 716. Of that number, 180 were listed as being in intensive care units and 109 were intubated, according to health officials.
The number of estimated active cases declined to 27,382 from 27,763 on Thursday.
Also on Friday, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Board voted to approve emergency regulations granting the state education commissioner authority to determine when hybrid and remote models may no longer count towards required student learning time hours. The move essentially gives the commissioner the ability to reopen schools.
