An illustration of the new coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.

Massachusetts public health authorities have reported around 1,000 daily tallies of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the past four days, the first time in months such a statistic has been repeatedly reported.

The Department of Public Health daily COVID-19 Dashboard report showed 986 confirmed cases on Thursday, Oct. 22, 968 on Friday, Oct. 23, 1,128 on Saturday, Oct. 24 and 1,097 on Sunday, Oct. 25. Only 646 new cases were reported Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The state’s cumulative caseload now stands at 147,120, a jump of 6,473 new confirmed cases – or 4.6 percent – from Sunday, Oct. 18. So far, 9,640 people are confirmed to have died of the coronavirus. The statewide seven-day average positive test rate is 1.5 percent.

Just over two-thirds of the 4,208 new cases over the last four days – 2,816 –have come from Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex and Bristol counties. Suffolk County represents just under 19 percent of cases, while Middlesex and Essex make up 18 percent and just over 17 percent, respectively.

Seventy-seven communities across the state are now in the state’s highest-risk category with more than eight cases per 100,000 residents.

While confirmed COVID-19 infections among Massachusetts residents younger than 20 are higher than they have been through the entire pandemic, State officials have been consistently pointing to unsafe behavior among young adults as driving a significant portion of the uptick.

Several experts said the trendline for children and teenagers does not warrant sounding the alarm, pointing to the expanded access to testing and noting that hospitalizations and deaths have remained virtually flat alongside rising case numbers.

Dr. Lloyd Fisher, president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the new levels of positive tests among the youngest is “a good thing,” describing it as evidence that the public health apparatus is catching cases and responding with contact tracing and isolation.

“In the past, we weren’t testing the mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic kids,” Fisher said. “We were only testing the really sick kids. So we’re not seeing more sickness, we’re just seeing more positives.”

Nonetheless, some communities are backing away from in-person learning amid a statewide increase in cases, the infection rate among the state’s youngest age group has grown more rapidly in the past two months than any other cohort.

The state has also instituted a temporary closure of all indoor ice rinks and ice skating facilities, prompted by what public health officials said are “at least 30 clusters of COVID-19 associated with organized ice hockey activities involving residents from more than 60 municipalities in Massachusetts.” The closured began Friday at 5 p.m. and last at least two weeks.

Staff writer James Sanna contributed to this report.