Our COVID-19 tracker contains the latest on Maine cases by county. 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.
Here’s a roundup of today’s COVID-19 news in Maine and New England, as of 6 p.m. Read all of our coronavirus coverage here.
— The number of confirmed cases in the state increased to 118, up from 107 on Monday.
— The virus is now in 10 Maine counties, as Waldo County announced its first case.
— The coronavirus has hit the hardest in Cumberland County, where 74 cases have been reported, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Other cases have been detected in Androscoggin (3), Kennebec (5), Knox (1), Lincoln (5), Oxford (6), Penobscot (4), Sagadahoc (3), Waldo (1) and York (16) counties.
— Fifteen Maine residents have been hospitalized due to the coronavirus.
— The number of Mainers that have been tested for COVID-19 increased to 3,014. This is up from 2,719 on Monday.
— Janet Mills ordered all public-facing businesses that are nonessential to close just after midnight while allowing grocery stores, pharmacies and other businesses deemed essential to remain open. Read her full executive order here.
— Here’s a guide to the businesses that must close and can stay open in Maine
— Portland issued a stay at home policy for the next five days. All businesses that do not provide essential services for COVID-19 are ordered to shut down by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Here’s the full stay-at-home order.
— Additionally, Portland’s mayor asked for the city’s landlords to not evict tenants or raise rent during the coronavirus pandemic.
— The town of Brunswick declared a state of emergency amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak in Cumberland County.
— Jack Allard, a former lacrosse player at Bates College in Lewiston, is in critical condition after contracting COVID-19.
— A health care provider at St. Mary’s Medical Center, one of Lewiston’s two hospitals, has tested positive for the coronavirus. A nurse in Belfast also tested positive for the virus.
— What’s the item most likely to be reported for price gouging? You guessed it — toilet paper.
— The department store Reny’s announced that it will close all stores until April 4 due to the spread of the coronavirus.
— L.L. Bean will use its shipping hub to pack food for pantries across the state. The company is partnering with Good Shepherd, Maine’s largest food bank, to sort and package food in boxes that Good Shepherd will ship to food pantries in all 16 counties.
— Mainers around the state are sewing face masks to help alleviate the national shortage in personal protective gear that is facing medical workers.
— Hikers are being advised to postpone any hikes on the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is asking all hikers to postpone any hikes on the Trail until the risks of spreading COVID-19 to others has reduced significantly.
— Vermont announced three more coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, bringing the total to five.
— Four more people in Massachusetts have died from COVID-19, bringing the total to nine.
— Rhode Island is moving its presidential primary election from April 28 to June 2. Connecticut, Maryland, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Ohio have also postponed their elections.
—The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has agreed to a proposal of postponing the Tokyo Olympics until 2021 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
— President Donald Trump said that he wants to reopen the country for business in weeks, not months, despite reports from health officials, and he claimed that continued closures could result in more deaths than the pandemic itself.
— Governors across the country, including Maine’s Janet Mills, reject President Donald Trump’s virus timeline.
— The Maine CDC set up a coronavirus hotline. The hotline is available by calling 211 or 866-811-5695. It can also be reached by texting your zip code to 207-898-211 or emailing info@211maine.org.
— Throughout the rest of New England, Massachusetts has 777 confirmed cases and nine deaths, Connecticut has 618 cases and 12 deaths, Vermont has 75 confirmed cases and five deaths, New Hampshire has 101 cases and one death, and Rhode Island has 124 confirmed cases.
— Nationwide, there are 52,215 cases and 675 deaths from the coronavirus as of Saturday evening, according to The New York Times.