Maine sees another record-breaking day of new virus cases
By Rosemary Lausier, Bangor Daily News Staff
Health officials on Tuesday reported 139 new coronavirus cases across the state.
Tuesday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 6,926. Of those, 6,136 have been confirmed positive, while 788 were classified as “probable cases,” according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency revised Monday’s cumulative total to 6,787, down from 6,799, meaning there was an increase of 139 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 daily cases reported to the Maine CDC, rather than the increase of daily cumulative cases.
New cases were reported in Androscoggin (7), Cumberland (48), Franklin (6), Hancock (1), Kennebec (14), Knox (10), Oxford (3), Penobscot (6), Somerset (13), Waldo (1), Washington (5) and York (20), Aroostook (1), Sagadahoc (1) and Lincoln (5) counties, state data show.
Only one county — Piscataquis — reported no new cases.
The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 94.0, up from 49.9 a week ago and up from 32.1 a month ago. It’s the highest seven-day average yet recorded in Maine. Before this past week’s surge, the previous record high was recorded in late May, when it topped out at 52.6, according to Maine CDC data.
Tuesday’s report breaks the previous record single-day jump in new coronavirus cases recorded Saturday — 123 — since the pandemic reached here in March.
Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah warned last week that Maine is seeing “forceful and widespread” community transmission of the coronavirus throughout the state and that Mainers “take action now” to halt the virus’ spread.
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.
The statewide death toll now stands 148. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.
So far, 502 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 29 people are currently hospitalized, with eight in critical care and one on a ventilator.
Meanwhile, 44 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 5,632. That means there are 1,146 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, which is up from 1,063 on Monday. It’s the highest number of active cases Maine has seen since the pandemic began.
A majority of the cases — 4,077 — have been in Mainers under age 50, while more cases have been reported in women than men, according to the Maine CDC.
As of Tuesday, there have been 651,059 negative test results out of 659,379 overall. About 1.2 percent of all tests have come back positive, Maine CDC data show.
The coronavirus has hit hardest in Cumberland County, where 2,706 cases have been reported and where the bulk of virus deaths — 70 — have been concentrated. Other cases have been reported in Androscoggin (893), Aroostook (68), Franklin (96), Hancock (77), Kennebec (379), Knox (108), Lincoln (70), Oxford (183), Penobscot (324), Piscataquis (11), Sagadahoc (89), Somerset (220), Waldo (157), Washington (77) and York (1,467) counties. Information about where an additional case was reported wasn’t immediately available.
As of Tuesday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 9,293,589 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 231,566 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.