BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts residents have increasingly been going online during the COVID-19 crisis to purchase nearly everything under the sun — including alcohol.

State alcohol regulators have seen a 300% uptick in direct-to-consumer alcohol deliveries throughout the pandemic, state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said during a virtual hearing on the state budget Tuesday.

Under state law, a direct wine shipper may send up to 12 cases of wine per year to a Massachusetts resident. The signature of a person age 21 years or older is required for delivery.

As treasurer, Goldberg oversees the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, which helps enforce the state’s liquor laws. This year that has also included enforcing the state’s COVID-19 protocols outlined by Gov. Charlie Baker.

For example, bars were closed early in the pandemic and remain closed but restaurants are allowed to sell to-go cocktails with takeout and delivery food orders.

Since last August, inspectors visited more than 21,000 licensed alcohol businesses in Massachusetts and found 98% in compliance with Baker’s pandemic-related executive orders, Goldberg said.

The Democrat also oversees the state lottery, which he said took a hit during the early months of the pandemic.

Overall sales in the months of March, April, and May last year fell by a combined $244 million compared to the same period in 2019.

“Since then, our revenues have stabilized and improved,” said Goldberg, who has revised the lottery’s 2021 fiscal year net profit projection from $940 million to $985 million.

Goldberg also said that the use of contactless payment options have soared during the pandemic and the lottery also needs to have the flexibility to expand cashless transactions.

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TEACHER VACCINATION

Massachusetts needs to prioritize vaccinating teachers if it wants to open school classrooms, Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka said Tuesday.

Spilka made the comments as Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has pushed to get school districts to restart in-classroom teaching — beginning with elementary schools — with a goal of eliminating remote education by April.

While most districts have already incorporated some in-person classroom learning for students — whether fully or by adopting a hybrid model — about 20% of districts are still fully remote, according to Baker.

The state’s largest teachers union has pushed back, accusing Baker of “callous disregard for the health and safety of school employees, students and families” by not moving teachers up the list of those eligible for COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Spilka also said Baker needs to do more and should designate a percentage of new vaccine doses to teachers and staff.

“If the Governor wants to mandate opening elementary schools across the Commonwealth to in-person learning by April 1, the Administration must have an equitable plan that gives communities the necessary support and resources to do that,” Spilka said in a written statement.

“Among those resources, we need a vaccine program for teachers and staff that is aggressive, and we need it this month,” she added.

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VIRUS BY THE NUMBERS

The number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 fell below 1,000 on Tuesday, while the number of newly confirmed coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts rose by 37.

The new numbers push the state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll to 15,859 since the start of the pandemic, while its confirmed caseload rose to more than 551,000.

The true number of cases is likely higher because studies suggest some people can be infected and not feel sick.

There were fewer than 800 people reported hospitalized Tuesday because of confirmed cases of COVID-19, with nearly 190 in intensive care units.

The average age of those hospitalized was 69. There were an estimated 29,000 people with current active cases of COVID-19 in the state.

The number of probable or confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported in long-term care facilities rose to 8,597.

More than 1.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts, including more than 1.2 million first doses and more than 565,000 second doses.

More than 2 million doses have been shipped to the state.

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