Health officials also confirmed 1,077 new cases of the virus, for a total of now 86,010 across Massachusetts.
There have now been 460,826 coronavirus tests carried out by state and commercial labs, the data shows. Roughly 3% of those who are currently sick are hospitalized — a metric that has continued to decline in recent weeks. There are 702 people in the ICU statewide.
A letter was signed by 250 religious leaders to Gov. Charlie Baker to allow places of worship to reopen during the first phases of Massachusetts’ reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, it asked a clergy member to be added to the state’s Reopening Advisory Board.
“The governor last week made an announcement about the four-phases, but he didn’t put the dates on it. Also, there wasn’t any information around what does that mean for the 10 people or less [order for places of worship],” said President of the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts Mohammed Dastigir. “[Baker] is taking really good steps and measures and has been proactive and I truly appreciate that. Now with that being said the reality is this, if you look at the trends and you take a look at what’s happening in the rest of the world, you take a look at the cases resurging when economies have opened up. The sad reality is that we are far from over this [pandemic].”
The four-phase reopening first will allow a limited number of businesses to resume operations with “severe restrictions” in place, followed by a second wave of industries reopening with restrictions and capacity limits. The third wave of industries will be allowed to reopen with public health guidance. In the fourth phase, Massachusetts will try to return to a “new normal” after a vaccine is developed.
Here are the cases listed by county:
Barnstable County: 1,150
Berkshire County: 497
Bristol County: 5,870
Dukes County: 26
Essex County: 12,462
Franklin County: 308
Hampden County: 5,205
Hampshire County: 767
Middlesex County: 19,129
Nantucket County: 12
Norfolk County: 7,474
Plymouth County: 7,064
Suffolk County: 16,479
Worcester County: 9,252
Unknown location: 315
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