The improvement in key numbers for COVID-19 continued Thursday, with the average for new cases dropping for the seventh consecutive day.

The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 464 new cases in its daily update. That dropped the daily average for the past week to 293 cases. That compares to 390 cases a day a week ago and less than half the daily average of 601 a month earlier.

There were 310 people in Alabama hospitals for the coronavirus, according to the report, compared to 516 inpatients on the same date in March.

ADPH said 1.89 millon doses of vaccine for the coronavirus have been administered in the state, and 721,094 Alabamians have completed their vaccinations.

Another encouraging number in the update involved the percentage of COVID-19 tests that turned out to be positive. The agency reported a positivity rate of 7.46%, less than half the rate of 16.1% for the same date in March.