BOSTON (AP) — The number of new COVID-19 deaths has surged past 3,000, just five days after crossing the threshold of 2,000 deaths.

Massachusetts health officials reported 104 new COVID-19 deaths Monday, bringing the total number of deaths in the state since the pandemic began to 3,003.

The state also reported more than 1,500 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of nearly 56,500 confirmed cases.

Massachusetts saw its first COVID-19 death on March 20, and the outbreak has intensified as the state imposed strict social distancing measures and contact tracing aimed at slowing transmission.

The state passed 1,000 deaths on April 15.

In other coronavirus-related developments in Massachusetts:

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BAKER - ANTIBODY TESTS

Gov. Charlie Baker is pressing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ramp up efforts to determine which coronavirus antibody tests are the most reliable.

The tests look for the presence of antibodies that show if an individual has been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19. Baker said some of the tests have error rates of up to 35%.

“The FDA needs to do the work and then decide which tests they view as being the ones that are approved and effective and accurate and at that point in time a lot of people, including us, will do a lot more of it,” the Republican said at a Monday news conference. “A test that is wrong up to a third of the time is not very helpful.”

It’s also not clear if having antibodies provides future immunity from the virus, he said.

While antibody tests can help determine what portion of a population has been exposed to the virus, what’s needed even more is an increase in traditional testing to determine who currently has the virus and may infect others, Baker said.

Up to 40% of those who currently have the virus may show no symptoms, he said.

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OPENING BUSINESSES

Baker said Monday that he’ll have more information later in the week about when and how the state may reopen for business.

The current state of emergency that has shuttered nonessential businesses and closed schools extends through May 4. School buildings have since been ordered closed for the rest of the academic year.

Baker declined to say whether he will extend the state of emergency past May 4, but said any announcement must come with a plan about how to safely ease restrictions.

Baker said that while the trend data in Massachusetts remains relatively high, the state is continuing to see a plateau in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said May 4 is too early to relax restrictions.

"Boston will not reopen on May 4," he said.

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MANDATORY FACE MASKS

Somerville has begun requiring people to wear masks in all public spaces or face a $300 fine to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The city will also begin offering free COVID-19 testing to any resident who wants it, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said Monday.

The testing effort will include a site at Somerville hospital to test residents regardless of health insurance or immigration status. Another site is planned for east Somerville.

Those who don’t have a mask can use a scarf, bandanna or other piece of cloth. There will be a weeklong grace period before police begin issuing fines.

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HEDGE FUND FOUNDER PLEDGE

A hedge fund executive and philanthropist pledged Monday to match donations up to $1 million to Massachusetts General Hospital's efforts to fight the coronavirus.

The pledge by Donald Sussman — founder and chief investment officer of Connecticut-based Paloma Partners — will benefit the Boston hospital's Emergency Response Fund, established in 2013 in response to the Boston Marathon bombing.

The fund is currently being used to buy protective equipment, enhance telemedicine capabilities to provide care while preventing possible exposure to the virus, and helping subsidize child care costs for essential hospital employees.

“Donald Sussman’s generous gift will enable us to increase our capacity, expand vital research, and leverage the considerable resources and the expertise behind our hospital-wide efforts in ways that are real, measurable and long-lasting,” hospital President Dr. Peter Slavin said.

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CARELL THANKS HOSPITAL WORKERS

Actor Steve Carell has given a special thank you to frontline medical workers battling the coronavirus pandemic at the Massachusetts hospital where he was born.

In the video posted last week, the star of “The Office” said he was born at Emerson Hospital in Concord in 1962 and his mother was a nurse there for more than 30 years.

“I have great memories of being incredibly sick there," he said.

Emerson has treated 38 confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to state Department of Health records released Sunday.