175 new coronavirus cases reported across Maine
By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff
This story will be updated.
Another 175 coronavirus cases have been reported across the state, Maine health officials said Monday.
Monday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 9,117. Of those, 8,180 have been confirmed positive, while 937 were classified as “probable cases,” according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency revised Sunday’s cumulative total to 8,942, down from 8,944, meaning there was a net increase of 173 over the previous day’s report, state data show. As the Maine CDC continues to investigate previously reported cases, some are determined to have not been the coronavirus, or coronavirus cases not involving Mainers. Those are removed from the state’s cumulative total. The Bangor Daily News reports on the number of new cases reported to the Maine CDC in the previous 24 hours, rather than the increase of daily cumulative cases.
New cases were reported in Androscoggin (20), Aroostook (1), Cumberland (51), Franklin (5), Hancock (1), Kennebec (17), Knox (5), Lincoln (1), Oxford (10), Penobscot (11), Sagadahoc (3), Somerset (9), Washington (4) and York (36) counties, state data show. Information about where an additional case was reported wasn’t immediately available.
Only two counties — Piscataquis and Waldo — reported no new cases.
The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 179, down from 187.6 a day ago but up from 163.1 a week ago and up from 30 a month ago.
Monday’s report marks an uptick in new cases after a weekend that saw a sharp drop the dizzying record-high 248 seen Friday.
Health officials have warned Mainers that “forceful and widespread” community transmission is being seen throughout the state. Five counties are seeing high community transmission: Franklin, Knox, Somerset, Waldo and Washington counties.
There are two criteria for establishing community transmission: at least 10 confirmed cases and that at least 25 percent of those are not connected to either known cases or travel.
No new deaths were reported on Monday, leaving the statewide death toll at 165. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.
So far, 577 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Information about those currently hospitalized wasn’t immediately available.
Meanwhile, 149 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 6,830. That means there are 2,122 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, which is up from 2,098 on Sunday. It’s yet another record high.
A majority of the cases — 5,399 — have been in Mainers under age 50, while more cases have been reported in women than men, according to the Maine CDC.
As of Friday, there have been 735,872 negative test results out of 746,314 overall. About 1.3 percent of all tests have come back positive, the most recently available Maine CDC data show.
The coronavirus has hit hardest in Cumberland County, where 3,270 cases have been reported and where the bulk of virus deaths — 70 — have been concentrated. Other cases have been reported in Androscoggin (1,203), Aroostook (87), Franklin (156), Hancock (168), Kennebec (583), Knox (167), Lincoln (107), Oxford (240), Penobscot (492), Piscataquis (24), Sagadahoc (118), Somerset (341), Waldo (194), Washington (150) and York (1,814) counties. Information about where an additional three cases were reported wasn’t immediately available.
As of Monday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 11,038,998 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 246,224 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.