Massachusetts reported 718 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, a sharp increase from the 481 new infections reported Monday. The death toll rose by 5 compared to the 18 reported yesterday. 

Tuesday’s total marks the second lowest number of cases—other than Monday’s total—since Nov. 2. Yesterday, cases dipped below 500, a benchmark that has not been passed since early fall. The lowest number of cases last week was 786, before topping 1,000 for four days straight. 

The state reports two COVID-19 positivity rates—one with higher education testing and one without. On Tuesday, the seven-day test positivity rate with higher education testing removed sat at 2.7 percent, down from the 3.0 percent reported this time last week. The rate that includes higher education sits at 1.6 percent.

The state reported 516 hospitalizations Tuesday, down from the 628 reported this time last week. Hospitalizations are steadily declining after they rose briefly in March.

On Tuesday, Massachusetts reported 56,515 new vaccinations, bringing the state’s total to 6,313,251. Over 37 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 dashboard has not been updated since Monday. The college entered its summer testing cycle on May 3, meaning the dashboard may not update as regularly. Monday’s dashboard update reported no positive COVID-19 tests out of the 338 tests administered on Friday. Zero community members were reported to be in on-campus quarantine and isolation respectively. 

The spring semester testing cycle concluded with 169 positive COVID-19 tests reported in total and a positivity rate of 0.21 percent, compared to the 60 cases and 0.12 percent positivity rate reported in the fall. Over the fall and spring semesters, 229 positive tests were reported, adding up to a 0.17 percent positivity rate.