Coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts rose by 57 on Tuesday as the state reported 422 new cases, continuing the downward trend seen in six key coronavirus metrics for three weeks now.
A total of 93,693 cases of coronavirus cases have been reported in the state and 6,473 people have died from the highly infectious virus, according to Department of Public Health data.
To date, 545,481 tests for the novel coronavirus have been conducted in Massachusetts including 4,920 new tests that were reported Tuesday. The rate at which COVID-19 tests return a positive diagnosis has been dropping — a new indicator that social distancing and stay-at-home measures are working, Gov. Charlie Baker has said.
The three-day average for COVID-19 tests returning a positive diagnosis dropped to 8.6% — the lowest since the pandemic began, according to DPH data.
There are 2,108 people in Massachusetts currently hospitalized for the coronavirus — 2% of all cases, a decrease from last month when roughly 6% of people positive for the novel coronavirus were hospitalized.
There are 560 coronavirus patients in Massachusetts currently in hospital intensive care units. The average age of a Massachusetts person with coronavirus is 52, the DPH data shows. The average age of a hospitalized coronavirus patient is 68. The average age among people who have died from COVID-19 is 82.
Long-term-care facilities continue to bear the brunt of the casualties related to the virus. Roughly 61% of all deaths reported statewide — 3,924 — happened at long-term care facilities as of Tuesday, according to state health officials. Infections among residents and employees total 19,919 and account for about 21% of all cases statewide.
Middlesex County has the most confirmed cases in Massachusetts with 20,601 cases, followed by Suffolk County with 17,533 cases.
The U.S. has seen a total of more than 1.67 million coronavirus cases since the outbreak began, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracking center. Worldwide, 5.5 million have contracted the disease and 348,302 have died.
In America, 98,636 people have died and 379,157 have recovered.
