In this Wednesday, April 22, 2020 photo a passer-by walks past pedestrian traffic pylons, front left and front right, in an outdoor mall where most stores remain closed out of concern for the coronavirus, in Dedham, Mass. More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
In this Wednesday, April 22, 2020 photo a passer-by walks past pedestrian traffic pylons, front left and front right, in an outdoor mall where most stores remain closed out of concern for the coronavirus, in Dedham, Mass. More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Credit: Steven Senne

BOSTON (AP) — More than 80,000 people filed for unemployment benefits in Massachusetts last week as the state becomes a coronavirus hotspot.

Data released by federal officials on Thursday shows more than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits nationwide last week. There were 80,345 new claims in Massachusetts.

Roughly 650,000 people have filed for unemployment in Massachusetts in the last five weeks.

The Massachusetts death toll in the coronavirus pandemic surged past 2,000 on Wednesday. Public health officials said there were 221 new deaths, pushing the overall toll to 2,182.

It was the most deaths reported in a single day since the outbreak in Massachusetts began, and the first time the state has recorded more than 200 in a day.

There were more than 1,700 new cases reported Wednesday, bringing the number of confirmed cases close to 43,000.