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Another 53 cases of the new coronavirus have been detected in Maine, health officials said Thursday. It’s the highest number of new cases reported since June 12.
There have now been 3,070 cases across all of Maine’s counties since the outbreak began here in March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 3,017 on Wednesday.
Of those, 2,731 have been confirmed positive, while 339 are likely positive, according to the Maine CDC.
New cases were tallied in Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec, Penobscot and York counties. The bulk of those cases — 42 — were reported in Cumberland County.
No new deaths were reported Thursday, leaving the statewide death toll at 103.
So far, 343 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 26 people are currently hospitalized, with 12 in critical care and six on ventilators.
Meanwhile, another 22 people have recovered from the virus, bringing total recoveries to 2,512. That means there are 455 active and likely cases in the state, up from 424 on Wednesday.
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.
—”The lobster industry to which President Donald Trump is directing financial aid is coming off a six-year stretch during which it benefited from historic levels of demand and healthy prices for its catch. The hefty hauls and high prices came even as the industry faced a number of challenges beyond its control, namely climate change, federal laws that protect whales and international trade disputes. But given the unpredictable nature of lawsuits filed by environmentalists, punitive tariffs that have limited their exports, and, most significantly, how long the global COVID-19 pandemic might last, lobstermen and industry officials are not assuming that 2020 will be another year of good hauls and high prices for Maine’s signature $485 million fishery.” — Bill Trotter, BDN
—”Maine’s voter registration and absentee ballot requirements could make older voters unable to cast a ballot without risking their health amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a lawsuit from advocacy groups against the state.” — Jessica Piper, BDN
—”New jobless claims in Maine have fallen below the peak seen during the Great Recession as more Mainers return to work amid relaxing coronavirus restrictions.” Christopher Burns, BDN
—”Black and immigrant leaders called on Gov. Janet Mills to do more to address the disproportionate effects of coronavirus on people of color in Maine on Thursday, saying the state should partner with organizations that know how to address the needs of their communities. Maine has the largest racial disparities of any state, with Black and African American residents about 24 times more likely to have tested positive for the virus than their white counterparts.” — Jessica Piper, BDN
—”The Maine Principals’ Association on Thursday released a set of guidelines for coaches and student-athletes that will be in force from July 6 to Aug. 2. The guidelines have been divided into two, two-week sessions with the second session relaxing the restrictions imposed for the first session. The rules are designed to allow coaches and student-athletes to prepare for their upcoming seasons in the safest way possible as everyone continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.” — Larry Mahoney, BDN
—”The owner of a Stonington dairy bar never thought posting a photo of a maskless Gov. Janet Mills on her stop to buy a lobster roll would start a political frenzy over her coronavirus restrictions, which include a face covering mandate. But when the photo of the Democratic governor with a young employee at Stonington Ice Cream Company taken last week and posted on Saturday was widely shared by critics of Mills and her management of the pandemic, Ron Watson knew it had to come down quickly.” — Caitlin Andrews, BDN
—As of Thursday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 2,441,413 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 122,482 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.