BOSTON — Massachusetts reported 1,442 cases of COVID-19 Friday as incidences of the virus continue to rise.
The Bay State reported 1,472 COVID cases Thursday. Just a week ago, on March 25, the state reported 811 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and cases have increased 77% since then.
The Boston-area COVID wastewater data has also begun climbing again, indicating a likelihood for future cases to climb in tandem.
The omicron BA.2 “stealth” variant is likely to blame for the uptick in cases — it’s a more contagious variant of omicron than BA.1, but is proving to be no more likely to cause severe disease.
Accordingly, the test positivity rate has also begun to rise. Currently, the seven-day test positivity rate is 2.47%, up from 2.13% a week ago.
State data show that 10 confirmed deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 Friday, bringing the state’s total deaths to 19,006.
The state reported Friday that 224 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, and 134 of those, or 60%, were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Of the 224 hospitalized patients, 81, or 36%, were primarily hospitalized for complications of COVID-19. Thirty-three patients are in the ICU and 12 are intubated.
———
