BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported another 8,542 cases of COVID-19 over the new year, bringing the state's total number of cases to 367,987.
The DPH said Saturday's report includes new cases confirmed between midnight on Thursday December 31st and 11:59 p.m. Friday January 1st.
The state DPH also confirmed another 79 deaths among confirmed cases of the virus, upping the Commonwealth's confirmed COVID-death toll to 12,236.There have also been 266 deaths among probable cases.
Since Christmas Day, the state's rate of positive COVID-19 tests has risen two percent to 8.67 percent.
The seven-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Massachusetts has also doubled over the past month. There are currently 2,280 people hospitalized with the virus across the state, and 412 are receiving intensive care.
Hospitals in every region of the Commonwealth are currently at 80 percent capacity or higher for non-ICU beds.
To help deal with the recent surge of COVID-19 patients at hospitals, the state is opening a second coronavirus field hospital Monday on the UMass Lowell campus.
According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center, the U.S. has surpassed 20.3 million confirmed cases of the virus, and almost 350,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 to date.
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Written by Brit Smith
(Photo: Getty Images)