The state Department of Public Health reported nearly 1,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, their highest number in months despite Island health agents reporting no new cases of the virus on the Vineyard.

In their daily online update, DPH reported that 986 new patients had tested positive for Covid-19 throughout the state on Thursday, making it likely the first time since spring that the number of new daily cases has neared 1,000.

The seven-day weighted average of the state’s positive test rate increased to 1.4 per cent - up from a low of 0.8 per cent in early September. And the seven-day hospitalization average increased to 519 patients, up from lows in the mid-300’s earlier this fall, according to DPH data.

The state also recorded 33 new deaths from the virus on Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 9,589 since the pandemic began. No Covid-related deaths have occurred on Martha’s Vineyard. Three Nantucket coronavirus patients have died, two in recent weeks.

Boston, as well as 76 other towns throughout the commonwealth, have been designated high risk communities, up from approximately 40 last month. No communities on the Cape or Islands are considered high risk as of Oct. 22, after Nantucket was classified in the moderate risk category in the most recent state public health update.

The state has now had 143,927 patients test positive for the virus, according to the DPH.

Meanwhile, in a daily demographic update on the Vineyard, health officials reported no new cases of the coronavirus for the second day in a row. Two new cases were reported Tuesday, as well as last Friday.

It is not currently known how many active cases there are on the Island. Active case numbers are updated every Friday afternoon.

The Island continues to test patients at a rapid clip, with more than 23,000 tests conducted since mid-March. Of those tests, 17,500 have occurred at TestMV - a comprehensive testing facility located at the regional high school focused on testing asymptomatic patients - and 5,884 have occurred at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. The hospital is testing symptomatic patients and their close contacts for the virus.

Cases of Covid-19 have been steadily increasing across the country, according to the Center for Disease Control. Although daily case numbers have not reached their summer peak, they have been trending upward, with a seven-day average of about 60,000 new cases Thursday.

More than 8 million Americans have tested positive for the virus, and 221,000 have died, according to the CDC.