Massachusetts reports 1,694 new coronavirus cases, vaccines administered top 5 million

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State House News Service

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.

By Charlie McKenna

Massachusetts reported 1,694 new coronavirus cases Saturday, a fall from the 1,926 new infections reported Friday. The death toll rose by 10.

Saturday’s total marks the fifth day this week cases have dipped below 2,000. Throughout the past week, daily new cases have repeatedly fallen below 2,000, which regularly surpassed 2,000 in recent weeks. Cases fell below that benchmark each day for six straight weeks, ending March 26. 

The state reports two COVID-19 positivity rates—one with higher education testing and one without. On Saturday, the seven-day test positivity rate with higher education testing removed sat at 3.67, down from the 4.0 percent reported this time last week. The rate that includes higher education sits at 2.1 percent. 

The state reported 693 total hospitalizations on Saturday, marking the second straight day hospitalizations in the state have dropped below 700, down from the 715 reported this time last week. Hospitalizations are on the decline after slowly rising over the past three weeks. 

On Saturday, Massachusetts reported 88,032 new vaccinations, bringing the state’s total to 5,009,612. More than 28 percent of the state’s population is now fully inoculated against COVID-19—meaning they have received both doses of the vaccines manufactured by Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

Emerson’s most recent dashboard update reported one new positive COVID-19 test Friday, bringing the number of positive tests reported since the start of the spring semester to 164. 

The dashboard is not updated on weekends because Emerson’s testing site at Tufts Medical Center is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.