Fall River coronavirus cases jump 39 due to nursing home reports; statewide ICU cases dip below 300

FALL RIVER - The city reported 39 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 1,513, and three additional deaths, bringing that total to 76.

In a Facebook post, Mayor Paul Coogan attributed the jump in cases to reports coming from the city's nursing homes.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported 38 new COVID-19-related deaths across the state Tuesday, bringing the state's total to 7,492.

State health officials also reported 519 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 104,667.

For the first time in months, the number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU fell below 300. The total, as of Thursday's report, was 296. Of those 181 were intubated.

Charlton Memorial Hopital is reporting 52 cases, with 12 in the ICU; Morton has 10 cases, two in the ICU; St. Luke's has 37, with nine in the ICU; and Saint Anne's has zero. One month ago, on May 11, Charlton had 70 cases, with 17 in the ICU; Morton had 48 cases, with seven in the ICU; St. Luke's had 88, with 13 in the ICU; and Saint Anne's had four cases, with zero in the ICU.

Other key indicators continue to trend downward. The seven-day average of the rate of positive tests was 3.8%, down from 11.7% on May 11. The three day average of hospitalizations was 1,334, down from 3,110 on May 11. And the three-day average of deaths was 36, down from 121 on May 11.

DPH recently began reporting both confirmed cases and probable cases. Of the new cases reported, 165 are probable. Meanwhile, 1 of the newly reported deaths fell into the probable category.

The DPH said the addition of probable cases and deaths is part of an effort to continue to offer transparent reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Wednesday, weekly data shows that 84,621 patients had been released from isolation, meaning they are considered to have recovered from the virus.