Health officials on Wednesday announced that another 174 Massachusetts residents have died of coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 5,315.
Officials also confirmed another 1,165 new cases of the virus, bringing the statewide total to 80,497. There were 8,536 new tests conducted on Wednesday, for a total of 410,032 carried out since the outbreak began.
COVID-19-related hospitalizations continue to be on a declining trend with 3,101 hospitalizations reported across the state, down slightly from yesterday and a steady decline since the peak of 3,965 on April 21.
Yesterday, a much lower 33 new deaths was reported, but the state said a change in the reporting deadline caused some of the deaths that would have been reported yesterday to have been included in Monday’s report.
The latest data comes as the state prepares to release the details of a phased reopening that could begin as early as May 18. Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday broke down the process into four phases — categorized in order as “Start, Cautious, Vigilant and The New Normal,” respectively.
In the first phase, a limited number of businesses will reopen with “severe restrictions” in place; the second phase includes more industries with restrictions and capacity limits; the third phase would be an easing of restrictions; and the fourth and final phase — assuming the public health data is showing favorable trends — is the return to a “new normal” after a vaccine is developed, Baker said.
Despite the uncertainty over the rate at which the virus is slowing, Baker said on Tuesday that May’s numbers have been an improvement over April’s. He said the percentage of daily positive tests is declining, and that officials are seeing fewer deaths amid efforts to expand testing.
At the end of March throughout April, Baker said the rate of positive test results varied between 20 and 30 percent. It’s now “in the vicinity of 10%,” he added.
Coronavirus in Mass.: Cases, maps, charts and resources
Here are the cases listed by county:
Barnstable County: 1,111
Berkshire County: 486
Bristol County: 5,249
Dukes County: 23
Essex County: 11,703
Franklin County: 302
Hampden County: 4,889
Hampshire County: 708
Middlesex County: 18,201
Nantucket County: 12
Norfolk County: 7,129
Plymouth County: 6,592
Suffolk County: 15,587
Worcester County: 8,241
Unknown location: 264
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