The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Massachusetts rose by 4,222 Thursday, while the seven-day average was 3,707. The new cases brought the state’s pandemic total to 488,861.
The death toll from confirmed cases increased by 43 to 14,056, the Department of Public Health reported.
The state’s case counts soared in the fall, while death counts increased less dramatically. In the past couple of weeks, the state’s second surge appears to have faltered. Experts and public health officials are concerned, however, that new fast-spreading coronavirus variants may fuel another surge.
The number of communities at high-risk for the virus dropped to 192 from 222 the week before, according to new data released Thursday.
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The statewide average dropped out of the high-risk category this week, as did Boston; the city had a daily average of 57.2 cases per 100,000 residents over the previous two weeks.
Other communities removed from the high-risk category include Amesbury, Andover, Ashby, Ashland, Athol, Beverly, Bourne, Boxborough, Brimfield, Brookfield, Charlton, Danvers, Deerfield, East Brookfield, Hatfield, Holliston, Lynnfield, Medford, Norfolk, North Andover, North Reading, Norwell, Pittsfield, Reading, Stoneham, Stow, Sunderland, Swampscott, Wenham, West Newbury, and Westwood.
Only Orleans and Sharon moved into the high-risk category.
State education officials also reported on Thursday 624 new coronavirus cases among public school students and 345 among school staff members for the week that ended Wednesday. Cases are only reported among students who are attending in-person school; cases among students in a fully remote learning model are not being tracked by the state.
The DPH also said 78,171 people were estimated to have active cases of the potentially deadly virus, and 1,878 confirmed coronavirus patients were in the hospital.
The department reported that 116,963 more tests had been conducted for coronavirus. The total number of tests administered climbed to more than 13.3 million. New antigen tests had been completed for 4,910 people, bringing that total to 466,795.
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The DPH reported that the seven-day average rate of positive tests, which is calculated from the total number of tests administered, was at 4.44 percent. The lowest observed figure for that metric — a number watched closely by state officials — is 0.8 percent.
The DPH said the rate would be 6.3 percent if the effect of college testing programs — in which asymptomatic people can be tested repeatedly in an effort to rapidly identify new cases — is factored out.
To take a deeper dive into the state’s daily coronavirus statistics click here. To check out the state’s weekly vaccine statistics report, click here.
Meanwhile, tests of the wastewater at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s Deer Island treatment plant sent a worrisome signal, showing traces of the coronavirus continuing to rebound after a couple of weeks of decline.
The rebound was small for the northern section of the system, which includes Boston, but more pronounced for the southern section, which includes a group of communities west and south of the city. The data covered tests conducted through Monday.
State officials are hoping that the pilot testing program can serve as an early warning system of future trends in the pandemic. Cambridge-based Biobot Analytics, which conducts the testing, says it has found that the amount of virus in the wastewater is correlated with newly diagnosed coronavirus cases four to 10 days later. The company says its tests are also able to detect the variants.
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Peter Bailey-Wells and Felicia Gans of the Globe staff and correspondent Jeremy C. Fox contributed to this report.
Martin Finucane can be reached at martin.finucane@globe.com.

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