MA Coronavirus Patients Have 2 Close Contacts On Average: State

When Massachusetts became the first state to start a contact tracing program, officials expected each coronavirus patient would be in contact with 10 other people. One month in, the program has found that number to be 80 percent lower on average, a sign that people are continuing to practice social distancing.

Contact tracers have gotten ahold of some 5,000 people who have been either infected with the coronavirus or in close contract with those people. On average, the patient has only been in close contact with two others, Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday as he rattled off some encouraging numbers about state's battle against the virus.

Baker said the low number points to residents practicing social distancing and other precautions.

The contact-tracing program has about 1,000 people making calls to people diagnosed with the virus. They then contact people who were in close contact with that patient, providing information and answering questions.

Baker also pointed out the number of coronavirus tests yielding positive results Wednesday were almost half of the what the high mark has been. Just under 18 percent of the 11,118 tests performed showed positive results; At the height of the pandemic, that number was close to 30 percent.

But things aren't turning around yet. Baker offered the data in the shadow of the highest single-day death toll of the pandemic: 252 deaths were reported Wednesday.

And while hospitalizations continue to remain level — a trend that has held for 15 days now — they haven't started to dip, either.

Baker also talked about the reopening advisory board, saying they are setting up listening sessions with business leaders across Massachusetts.