Maine CDC reports 20 more deaths and 355 coronavirus cases across the state
By Rosemary Lausier, Bangor Daily News Staff
This story will be updated.
Another 20 Mainers have died as health officials on Saturday reported 355 more coronavirus cases across the state.
The additional reported deaths Saturday reflect a review of records filed in the past two week, primarily involving deaths that occurred between Jan. 10 and Jan. 23, a Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson said.
The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 5,949. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. That’s down from 6,032 on Friday.
The deaths of two residents of Androscoggin County, four residents of Aroostook County, three residents of Cumberland County, one resident of Kennebec County, one resident of Oxford County, five residents of Penobscot County, one resident of Washington County, and three residents of York County, bring the statewide death toll to 590.
Saturday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 39,168, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 38,813 on Friday.
Of those, 31,567 have been confirmed positive, while 7,601 were classified as “probable cases,” the Maine CDC reported.
The new case rate statewide Saturday was 2.65 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 292.65 cases per 10,000 residents.
Maine’s seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 367.6, up from 363.4 a day ago, down from 484.7 a week ago and down from 430.7 a month ago.
Throughout the pandemic, most cases have been detected in Mainers in their 20s, while Mainers over 80 years old make up the majority of deaths. More cases and deaths have been recorded in women than men.
So far, 1,386 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. As of Saturday, 161 patients are hospitalized with 51 in critical care and 27 on a ventilator. Out of 391 critical care beds, 93 are still available. Currently, 228 out of 320 ventilators and 443 alternative ventilators are still available.
The total statewide hospitalization rate on Saturday was 10.36 patients per 10,000 residents.
Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (4,302), Aroostook (1,129), Cumberland (11,160), Franklin (767), Hancock (773), Kennebec (3,102), Knox (577), Lincoln (468), Oxford (1,905), Penobscot (3,408), Piscataquis (200), Sagadahoc (772), Somerset (1,084), Waldo (507), Washington (618) and York (8,389) counties. Information about where seven additional cases were reported wasn’t immediately available.
As of Friday, 1,489,231 tests have been administered and the statewide positivity rate is 3 percent.
As of Saturday, 145,356 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, with 36,837 who have received two doses.
As of Saturday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 25,934,331 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 436,819 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
Nationwide, 28.9 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, an increase of 1.6 million doses since Friday, according to Bloomberg.