MA Coronavirus Cases Surpass 200,000 As Thanksgiving Nears

Massachusetts has seen more than 200,000 reported cases of the coronavirus, a number that shows no sign of slowing as the pandemic continues its current worrisome surge through the end of fall.

The Department of Public Health reported 5,712 newly confirmed cases of the virus over the weekend, bringing the number to 200,050 since the start of the pandemic.

Forty-three deaths were reported over the weekend. At least 10,281 people in Massachusetts have died from COVID-19. That's more than 5 percent of all reported cases resulting in a death, though the rate of fatalities have slowed considerably since the spring.

The number of people hospitalized with the virus continues to climb. There were 893 hospitalizations as of Sunday's report, with 192 of those people in intensive care.

The state's seven-day testing rate stands at 3.02 percent as waves of people rush to get tested before Thanksgiving. Nearly 220,000 molecular tests were administered over the weekend.

Officials are urging people to stay home this year and not see family outside their household.