Number of people hospitalized with virus falls below 1,000

BOSTON (AP) — State health officials on Wednesday reported that the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has fallen below 1,000 — or about a quarter of the number hospitalized with the disease in April.

The total number of confirmed and probable deaths in the state attributed to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic has risen to 7,734 with the addition of 69 deaths reported Wednesday.

There were about 266 newly reported cases of the disease reported Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 to more than 106,000.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 fell to 998, down from about 1,684 two weeks ago. The number of people in intensive care units fell to 227, down from 393 two weeks ago.

The number of probable and confirmed COVID-19 deaths at long-term care homes rose to 4,875, or 63% of all deaths in Massachusetts attributed to the disease.

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CAPITAL PLAN-COVID

Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday released a capital investment plan for the state that he said maintains existing investments while letting the administration continue working on ongoing long-term projects.

The plan will also help make sure the state is positioned to cope with the short-, medium- and long-term COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, according to Baker.

The plan provides capital investments in all regions of the state in transportation, housing, support for cities and towns, health and human services, higher education and public safety, Baker said.