MA Coronavirus Infection Rate, Hospitalizations Plummet

BOSTON — The number of Massachusetts patients hospitalized with the coronavirus dropped again Sunday, as did the infection rate on new tests, which dropped to an all-time low of 8 percent.

But another 92 residents died, and 1,077 new cases were confirmed, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The new fatalities bring the state's death toll to nearly 5,800. As of Sunday afternoon, the state had more than 86,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.

The new cases came as a result of 12,737 newly reported tests. Eight percent of those tests came back positive, which was down from 12 percent Saturday, a number which had held relatively steady over the last week.

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations fell to 2,597, the fewest since the state started counting suspected cases — and almost even to the level it was before they started counting them.

Hospitalizations and infection rate are two of the health metrics the state is considering when it comes to reopening the economy on a larger scale.

The first details of the state's four-phase reopening plan are expected to be announced Monday. See what we already know about the plan here.

See Sunday's full report here.