The Vermont Department of Health reported 505 new Covid-19 cases Friday, the second-highest one-day total the state has ever reported.

Combined with Thursday’s record high of 595 cases, the seven-day average has risen to 342, which is 57% percent higher than the seven-day average at the beginning of this month.

The department also disclosed two new deaths in its data, for a total of 17 deaths so far in November. In total, 393 Vermonters have died since the beginning of the pandemic.

Fifty-two Vermonters are in the hospital with the virus, including 13 in intensive care units. The state has reported between 42 and 55 Covid-19 patients in November but has not yet hit the recent record of 60 hospitalizations set Oct. 29.

Vermont has reported the third-highest rate of increase in cases nationwide, according to New York Times data. It has the fifth-highest case rate overall, with 52 cases per 100,000 people.

[Looking for data on breakthrough cases? See our reporting on the latest available statistics.]

The state has also gone from nearly last in the nation for its hospitalization rate to eighth from the bottom, according to Times data. It is 16th-lowest for its death rate. Vermont has few deaths compared with other states because of its small population, which may skew its rate.

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