As of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 19, 42 Maine residents have been confirmed positive and 10 others are presumed positive for the coronavirus, according to the state. Click here for the latest coronavirus news, which the BDN has made free for the public. You can support this mission by purchasing a digital subscription.
For the most recent updates, see here.
As of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, there are 52 confirmed and likely cases of the new coronavirus in the state, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 42 on Wednesday.
Penobscot County’s first case was confirmed Wednesday. That person had sought care at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center’s walk-in care center on Union Street in Bangor.
The virus has now been detected in at least seven of Maine’s 16 counties.
Here’s the latest about the spreading coronavirus and its impact on Maine.
— The coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has quickly unsettled financial markets and caused widespread disruption throughout the economy. In Bangor, where retail sales, business openings and redevelopment have been on the rise since the Great Recession, business owners and city officials worry that the outbreak could dampen growth in both the short and long terms.
— That worry comes as Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday ordered bars and restaurants to stop dine-in service and banned gatherings of more than 10 people for at least the next two weeks. Mills also asked that other businesses, including gyms, close their doors. The move followed decisions in major Maine cities — including Augusta, Bangor and Portland — to institute curfews meant to curtail the spread of the virus.
— Unemployment claims in Maine skyrocketed over the first three days of this week as businesses in the state have shuttered due to the coronavirus. The state received 4,900 claims, an 800 percent increase over the same full-week period in 2019.
— In response, state and federal officials aim to release a list of resources available to businesses and workers later today. They also will release a list of businesses considered essential during the virus outbreak such as food processing, agriculture, construction and industrial manufacturing.
— Nationally, the economic fallout from the coronavirus continues, with even more volatility on the stock market, which halted trading for the fourth time this month due to excessive losses. The big three automobile manufacturers — Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler — will reportedly suspend production at their plants to protect workers from potential infection.
— President Donald Trump, a Republican, signed into law a relief package late Wednesday, and may be followed by another larger package from Congress. The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it wants to make $500 billion in direct payments to every American to help them weather the coronavirus crisis. That idea has been floated publicly by Trump and U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah.
— That could just be the start of a growing federal response to cope with the pandemic. On Wednesday, Trump said he would sign the Defense Production Act “in case we need it” to deal with an expected surge in cases of the virus. The law, which dates to 1950, during the Korean War, gives the president extraordinary authority to compel industries to expand production and turn out vital materials.
— The Maine CDC was slowly filling vacancies after years of budget cuts when the coronavirus outbreak reached the United States earlier this year. The outbreak has thrust the agency into the spotlight and added to the workload of its 230 employees. Some are working “double and triple duty,” according to Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah. His agency plans to hire more public health nurses with part of an additional $1 million in funding from the governor’s supplemental budget, which passed the Legislature on Tuesday.
— The Jackson Laboratory is starting to breed a rediscovered, specialized strain of mouse to help researchers find a vaccine for the deadly infectious disease. The Bar Harbor-based biomedical research lab that breeds mice for researchers across the globe this month began to breed a specially developed strain of research mouse that was last used more than a decade ago to study another coronavirus, SARS, that sickened more than 8,000 people worldwide and killed 700 in 2003.
— While bans on large gatherings and shuttering businesses and public services can be an inconvenience for some, for those without a home that might mean they have no place to go. With downtown Bangor businesses shutting down, the library temporarily closed and many chains operating drive-through service only, options for people without homes are more limited than ever as the city of Bangor tries to keep large groups from assembling in the interest of public health. Options are more limited at night, too, with Monday’s closure of the overnight warming center at the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter and the closure of the Bangor Police Department’s lobby for overnight stays.
— As of Wednesday, the virus has sickened 7,038 people in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been 97 deaths, the agency reports.