An illustration of the new coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.
The number of COVID-19 cases continues to soar in Massachusetts.
On Wednesday, the state reported that the number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 jumped by more than 4,600 – a one-day record for Massachusetts since the start of the pandemic – while the number of confirmed coronavirus deaths increased by 46.
The new numbers pushed the state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll to 10,588 and its confirmed caseload since the start of the pandemic to nearly 225,800.
The true number of cases is likely higher because studies suggest some people can be infected and not feel sick.
There were nearly 1,260 people reported hospitalized Wednesday because of confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than 260 in intensive care units.
The average age of those hospitalized was 68.
The number of probable or confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported in long-term care facilities rose to 6,819.
Public health officials are planning to open another hotel facility to help house residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 and need a safe and therapeutic space to recover while isolating from others.
Early in the pandemic, the state established a network of hotels for individuals who lived in housing situations that made it difficult for them to safely isolate while recovering from the disease – including homeless individuals, people who live in group housing and residents who live with someone who is at high risk.
The recovery sites ended up serving more than 900 individuals from Boston to Pittsfield, according to Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders.
Even as the need vastly decreased during the summer, the state maintained a single location in Everett.
Now as Massachusetts experiences another surge in COVID-19 cases, the state is again expanding the program. Last week a facility opened in Taunton and next week a third location will open in Pittsfield, Sudders said Tuesday at press conference.
Over the weekend, the existing sites in Everett and Taunton served 122 people, she said.
The state is prepared to launch additional sites as needed, Sudders added.
