25 more deaths and another 3,784 coronavirus cases reported across Maine

This story will be updated.

By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff

Twenty-five more Mainers have died and another 3,784 coronavirus cases reported across the state, Maine health officials said Thursday.

It’s the third day in a row when the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported an elevated number of virus cases as it grapples with a backlog of more than 30,000 positive virus cases, making the daily case counts less reliable indicators of the severity of the virus’ spread across the state. Other indicators, including falling hospitalizations and wastewater testing, suggest the coronavirus may be loosening its grip on Maine.

Thursday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 206,005, according to the Maine CDC. That’s up from 202,221 on Wednesday. 

Of those, 151,336 have been confirmed positive, while 54,669 were classified as “probable cases,” the Maine CDC reported.

Fourteen men and 11 women have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,883.

Five were from Androscoggin County, one from Aroostook County, one from Cumberland County, two from Hancock County, three from Kennebec County, one from Lincoln County, three from Oxford County, six from Penobscot County, one from Piscataquis County, one from Somerset County and one from York County.

Of those, seven were 80 or older, nine in their 70s, three in their 60s, five in their 50s and one in their 20s.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 27,504. 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 up from 25,122 on Wednesday.

The new case rate statewide Thursday was 28.27 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 1,539.18.

The most cases have been detected in Mainers younger than 20, while Mainers over 80 years old account for the largest portion of deaths. More cases have been recorded in women and more deaths in men.

So far, 4,204 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Information about those who are currently hospitalized wasn’t immediately available.

The total statewide hospitalization rate on Thursday was 31.41 patients per 10,000 residents.

Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (20,434), Aroostook (9,862), Cumberland (43,408), Franklin (5,012), Hancock (6,175), Kennebec (19,624), Knox (5,137), Lincoln (4,532), Oxford (9,770), Penobscot (23,190), Piscataquis (2,542), Sagadahoc (4,415), Somerset (8,263), Waldo (5,218), Washington (3,519) and York (34,774) counties. Information about where an additional 130 cases were reported wasn’t immediately available.

An additional 70 vaccine doses were administered in the previous 24 hours. As of Thursday, 984,026 Mainers are fully vaccinated, or about 76.8 percent of eligible Mainers, according to the Maine CDC.

As of Thursday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 78,173,320 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 928,519 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.