The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts increased by 16 to 8,265, state officials said Thursday. The number of confirmed cases increased by 270, bringing the total to 107,683, as the key metrics the state uses to monitor its gradual reopening were generally stable.
The state did not report new deaths from probable cases, keeping that total at 219. There were 57 new probable cases for a total of 6,964.
The data, whose publication is scheduled for 4 p.m. M. Every day, they were posted online after 9 p.m. M.
“In response to mandatory reporting requirements from federal hospitals, hospitals and the Department of Public Health have experienced technical difficulties and data integrity issues in reporting the data,” an agency spokeswoman said in an email explaining the delay. . “The department is working to mitigate these reporting challenges soon.”
Earlier in the day, the count of confirmed infections in the United States reached 4 million according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. Globally, more than 15 million people have been infected and more than 600,000 have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins.
Massachusetts saw improvements in some of the key metrics closely watched by public health officials. The three-day average of patients hospitalized for the coronavirus dropped to 465 on Wednesday, less than 509 the day before and 498 on Monday. That marks a 87 percent decline from the mid-April highs.
The three-day average of deaths from confirmed coronavirus cases also slowed. It was at 10 on Monday, compared to 13 on Sunday and 12 on Saturday. That number was a 93 percent decrease from mid-April and marked the lowest three-day average in weeks.
State officials said more than 16,000 more people had been tested for the coronavirus as of Thursday, bringing the total of the tests to 1,079,288. The total number of tests administered increased to 1,391,221.
The state reported that new antibody tests had been completed for 1,366 people, with a total of 88,712.
A University of Massachusetts model released this week suggested that coronavirus deaths in the state will continue to decline in the coming weeks. The model estimates that by August 15, the state will have added 8,783 deaths, although researchers said that number could range from 8,656 to 9,019.
Looking to the future, the University of Washington Institute for Health Measurement and Assessment model predicts that Massachusetts will see 9,970 coronavirus deaths by November 1.
Also Thursday, President Trump announced that Republican National Convention events planned for Florida, a state that reported a record 173 deaths from coronavirus on Thursday, have been canceled in response to the pandemic.
After announcing the cancellation, Trump continued to push for schools to reopen in the fall, although he acknowledged that schools at some virus hotspots may need to delay classes in person.
“We cannot indefinitely prevent 50 million American children from going to school, impairing their mental, physical and emotional development,” he said from the White House meeting room. “Reopening our schools is also critical to ensuring parents can go to work and support their families.”
Trump said that all schools across the country should prepare to open and that students will experience learning losses and lose access to food and mental health services programs if classrooms remain closed.
You can contact Christina Prignano at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @cprignano. Jeremy C. Fox can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jeremycfox.
