MA Coronavirus: 174 Deaths, 2,379 New Cases

BOSTON — Another 174 Massachusetts residents have died from the new coronavirus, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, bringing the state's reported death toll to 2,730.

The state also confirmed another 2,379 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Massachusetts to 53,348. Increased testing has brought a dramatic increase in the number of confirmed cases in recent days. As of Saturday, the infection rate was 773.94 per100,000 people, up from 616.41 on Tuesday.

Saturday's report also showed that the hospitalization rate had dropped to seven percent from eight percent a day earlier. Officials are watching that number closely as they try to determine when the coronavirus surge will subside in Massachusetts.

"That number has remained stable for quite a few days now, and we continue to manage and watch the hospitalization rate and hospital capacity issue very carefully," Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said in his daily news briefing.

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But Baker also reiterated that the state would not begin easing restrictions until there had been adequate testing. Saturday's report showed an additional 11,632 tests had been conducted, bringing the total to 226,845.

Read the full report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

More Coronavirus Coverage On Massachusetts Patch:

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Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).