State health officials confirmed 7,424 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday.
Health officials also announced another 46 COVID-related deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-related deaths in Massachusetts since the pandemic began to 11,752.
Saturday’s figures include test data from Thursday morning until the end of Friday, as state health officials did not publish the daily COVID report on Christmas Day.
The number of active coronavirus infections in the state increased to 78,086. Saturday’s new cases reflect 108,445 molecular tests.
The number of cities and towns designated as high risk this week is 188. Some communities have been downgraded to moderate risk, while others have been upgraded to high risk.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 335,731 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, the data show.
There are currently 2,077 people hospitalized with suspected COVID-19 disease, and 416 patients are in the ICU. Hospitalizations have increased in the past two months.
The seven-day average of positive tests is currently at 6.52%, up from a 0.8% drop in September.
The latest figures come on the day Governor Charlie Baker’s new restrictions on business and meeting limits take effect. Beginning December 26, the state began to reduce capacity limits to 25% for most companies and to reduce the number of people who can meet outside to 25. For internal meetings, including events, this limit is 10 people.
Sectors affected by reduced capacity include restaurants, personal services, theaters and venues, casinos, offices, places of worship, retail, pilot and pilot schools, golf courses, libraries, lodging, arcades and indoor recreation, gyms and health clubs, museums, cultural facilities and guided tours.
From December 17 to 23, 949 new cases of COVID were confirmed in state schools, excluding students who are learning at a distance, according to new data from the Secretariat of Basic Education. These infections were identified between 450,000 students and 75,000 employees.
The state has already received 146,675 doses of the COVID vaccine since the immunizations of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna received emergency approval, according to new data.
Here is the number of cumulative confirmed coronavirus cases in each Massachusetts county:
Barnstable County: 5,008
Berkshire County: 2,660
Bristol County: 32,058
Dukes County: 454
Essex County: 54,530
Franklin County: 1,201
Hampden County: 24,666
Hampshire County: 3,524
Middlesex County: 70,748
Nantucket County: 703
Norfolk County: 25,321
Plymouth County: 22,511
Suffolk County: 51,663
Worcester County: 39,704
Unknown location: 980