Coronavirus cases continued to soar in new numbers reported Saturday by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, with 24 cases in Worcester County and 525 statewide.
Those numbers were sharp increases from just a day prior. Friday’s totals were 19 for Worcester County and 413 for Massachusetts, a one-day spike of 27%.
The state also announced on Saturday the second Massachusetts death, a woman in her 50s from Middlesex County who the Department of Public Health said had a pre-existing condition predisposing her to more severe disease.
The rising numbers reflect more widespread testing, both at the state’s public health laboratory and at private labs, including Marlborough’s Quest Diagnostics. An estimated more than 5,200 have been tested in Massachusetts so far through midday Saturday, including some patients who’ve been tested more than once.
The Department of Public Health reported the state’s first coronavirus fatality Friday, a Suffolk County man in his 80s who the state said had existing conditions putting him at high risk. Of the state’s 525 cases, 61 have required hospitalization.
Nationwide numbers jumped to more than 24,000 cases through Saturday afternoon, including 285 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Worldwide numbers, which are climbing rapidly, include 299,000 cases and nearly 13,000 deaths.
