Massachusetts health officials reported an additional 7,635 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the number of active cases to 87,348 across the state.
These new cases are based on 108,569 molecular tests, according to data from the Department of Public Health. The seven-day average of positive tests is 7.49%, down from 0.8% in September. Not including tests at higher education institutions, where frequent tests have helped to keep the case count low, the state’s average positivity over seven days is 8.7%.
Also on Friday, authorities reported another 74 deaths related to the virus. So far, during the pandemic, there have been at least 400,823 cases and 12,708 related deaths. There were preexisting conditions known to 6,639 people who died, according to DPH data.
Currently, there are 2,311 people hospitalized with coronavirus cases, 440 of whom are in the intensive care unit. The average age of hospitalized patients is 73 years, according to DPH.
Until Friday, the average of seven days of hospitalizations is 2,346. The lowest average was 155 in August.
The COVID test is scheduled to expand to students and school staff in Massachusetts. Governor Charlie Baker and education officials announced on Friday that the weekly pool test is scheduled to begin next month.
Since last month, there have been 141,108 doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines administered in Massachusetts. Both vaccines require two doses, and 1,213 second doses have been administered in the state as of this Thursday.
Vaccinations for police and emergency personnel will begin on 11 January.
On Thursday, DPH classified 219 Massachusetts cities as at high risk of spreading the virus.
Here are the cumulative COVID cases per county:
Barnstable County: 6,143
Berkshire County: 3,414
Bristol County: 39,255
Dukes County: 565
Essex County: 64,512
Franklin County: 1,418
Hampden County: 29,368
Hampshire County: 4,393
Middlesex County: 83,698
Nantucket County: 903
Norfolk County: 30,818
Plymouth County: 27,624
Suffolk County: 59,640
Worcester County: 47,879
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