Another 28 coronavirus cases have been reported in Maine, health officials said Thursday.
Thursday’s report brings the total coronavirus cases in Maine to 4,414. Of those, 3,961 have been confirmed positive, while 453 were classified as “probable cases,” according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency revised Wednesday’s cumulative total to 4,386, down from 4,389, meaning there was an increase of 25 over the previous day’s report, state data show. As the Maine CDC continues to investigate previously reported cases, some are determined to have not been the coronavirus, or coronavirus cases not involving Mainers. Those are removed from the state’s cumulative total.
No new deaths were reported Thursday, leaving the statewide death toll at 132. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.
So far, 415 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, nine people are currently hospitalized, with four in critical care and one on a ventilator.
Meanwhile, 29 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 3,847. That means there are 435 active and “probable” cases in the state, which is down from 439 on Wednesday.
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.
—“The Maine Principals’ Association Interscholastic Committee voted unanimously late Thursday afternoon to proceed with interscholastic fall sports this year.” — Ernie Clark, BDN
—“Pine Tree Legal, a group that defends low-income tenants statewide, has recruited 10 volunteer lawyers to help renters navigate the evictions process in a “chaotic” court system turned upside down by the pandemic. As eviction cases rise across the state, the nonprofit aims to double its number of legal volunteers in the coming weeks to help avert a crisis of Mainers displaced from their homes.” — Nick Schroeder, BDN
—“Maine still wants people without symptoms to get tested if they’ve been exposed to someone with the coronavirus, the state’s top public health official said Thursday.” — Matthew Stone, BDN
—“The state has now suspended the license of the inn on Millinocket Lake that hosted an Aug. 7 wedding reception connected to a COVID-19 outbreak that has spread to at least 87 people.” — Charles Eichacker, BDN
—“Maine saw a slight drop in new jobless claims last week as Washington remains deadlocked over a new coronavirus relief package.” — Christopher Burns, BDN
—“An out-of-state University of Southern Maine student is the first at the school to test positive for COVID-19 and has been placed in isolation as state health officials work to determine whether other students or staff have been infected, officials said Thursday.” — Nick Sambides Jr., BDN
—“Abbott announced Thursday it will hire 1,200 people as its Westbrook facility prepares for the production of a new $5 coronavirus testing kit.” — Christopher Burns, BDN
As of Thursday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 5,858,857 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 180,494 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.