Story at a glance
- Health officials attributed the progress made against the virus to following the Department of Public Health’s guidelines.
- Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday the state’s seven-day average for positive case rates is about 1.8 percent, a 94 percent drop from the middle of April.
- The state has tallied a total of 108,882 cases since the outbreak began.
Massachusetts on Tuesday reported no new coronavirus-related deaths for the first time in more than three months and is experiencing a decline in hospitalizations as coronavirus outbreaks continue to tear through many Southern and Western states.
Tuesday was the first day since March 21 the state did not report any new deaths.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS RIGHT NOW
FAUCI WARNS YOUNG PEOPLE THEY ARE NOT IMMUNE TO ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CORONAVIRUS
HERE ARE THE 6 WAYS THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC COULD END
YOUR BLOOD TYPE MAY AFFECT WHETHER YOU GET CORONAVIRUS
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said Wednesday only 114 new positive cases were reported Tuesday, bringing the state’s seven-day average for positive case rates to about 1.8 percent, a 94 percent drop from the middle of April.
America is changing FASTER THAN EVER. Add Changing America to your Facebook and Twitter feeds to stay engaged on the latest news and smartest insights.
Health officials attributed the progress made against the virus to following the Department of Public Health’s guidelines.
“We got here with hard work and following the guidance of the governor and the Department of Public Health on social distancing, staying at home, not opening too quickly — the COVID-19 infection prevention bundle,” Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health hospital system told The Boston Herald.
“At our peak, we had one of the highest transmission rates, but now we’re one of the slowest rates,” he said, adding, “We’ve slowed the virus down. It’s very impressive.”
The state currently has 733 patients who are hospitalized statewide due to COVID-19, including about 120 in the intensive care unit (ICU). That brings the three-day average for the number of hospitalized patients down 89 percent since the middle of April.
“The continued fight against the virus depends almost completely and exclusively on all of us maintaining our vigilance in continuing to do the things that made such a big difference here in Massachusetts,” Baker said Wednesday during a news conference.
The state’s death toll now stands at 8,054, a drop of 41 deaths from Monday due to “data cleaning.”
“Due to ongoing data cleaning which identifies and removes duplicate reports, the number of both confirmed and probable deaths has decreased as of today’s report,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Tuesday.
The state has tallied a total of 108,882 cases since the outbreak began.
The governor announced Tuesday that Massachusetts will exempt travelers from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York and New Jersey from the state’s 14-day self-quarantine advisory due to declining infection rates in those states. The quarantine order for out-of-state visitors remains in place for most traveling from other states, except for essential workers traveling to Massachusetts for work reasons.
The situation in Massachusetts comes as infections in the U.S. have surged over the last month as states eased quarantine rules and reopened their economies.
More than 800,000 new cases were reported in June bringing the nation’s coronavirus total to more than 2.6 million, according to the Washington Post. The cases largely occurred in Florida, Arizona, Texas and California.
BREAKING NEWS ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
COUNTRIES LED BY WOMEN HAVE FARED BETTER AGAINST CORONAVIRUS. WHY?
MORE THAN 8.7 MILLION CORONAVIRUS CASES WENT UNDETECTED IN MARCH
EXPERTS: 90% OF CORONAVIRUS DEATHS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
FAUCI PREDICTS ANOTHER CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN THE FALL WITH A ‘VERY DIFFERENT’ OUTCOME
TEXAS REPORTS SINGLE-DAY HIGH IN CORONAVIRUS DEATHS TWO WEEKS AFTER REOPENING
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
