78 More Coronavirus Deaths As Baker Mulls Phase 2 Start

There were 78 more deaths reported in Friday's daily coronavirus update, the first one since Gov. Charlie Baker said he will be using the data to make his decision next weekend on when phase two will open. There have been 6,718 deaths related to COVID-19 in Massachusetts.

The four major public health metrics officials are watching either went down or continued a plateau, but none increased. Baker on Friday said next week's progress would influence when phase two of the state's reopening will begin.

There were 617 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 95,512. The state reported 9,422 new tests.

The number of new hospitalizations decreased by 121, bringing the total below 2,000.

Friday's report had a slight dip in deaths, cases and tests from the previous day. Officials have said overall trends are more important than day-to-day variations.

See the full report here

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