Another Mainer has died and 42 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Maine, health officials said Saturday.
There have now been 4,834 coronavirus cases reported across Maine since the outbreak began here in March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 4,792 on Friday.
Of those, 4,349 have been confirmed positive, while 485 were classified as “probable cases,” the Maine CDC reports.
One new death was reported Saturday, raising the statewide death toll to 135. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.
So far, 431 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 10 people are currently hospitalized, with six in critical care and four on ventilators.
Meanwhile, 20 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 4,211. That means there are 488 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, which is up from 467 on Friday.
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Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.
—“State health officials have linked six more cases of COVID-19 to a recent funeral and reception in Sanford and said that funeral attendees visited several other social clubs in the York County city, potentially exposing others to the virus.” — Lauren Abbate, BDN
—“The pandemic holiday season promises to be one of the longest in memory as retailers stretch to make up for fewer customers allowed inside stores, shoppers with less disposable income, unpredictable product shortages and a shift to online purchases. Two iconic family-owned Maine retailers, 108-year-old L.L. Bean and 71-year-old Renys, have seen tough times in the past, including several recessions and other pandemics. While much remains unknown about the future track of the virus and economy, these long-timers may be more adept than most at figuring out new ways to drum up sales and locate hot items in short supply.” — Lori Valigra, BDN
—“For the first five months of the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19 spread in York County much as it did in the rest of the state. Maine’s southernmost county roughly followed state trends for daily numbers of new cases and active infections among its residents. Then, a wedding happened on Aug. 7 more than 200 miles to the north.” — Charles Eichacker, BDN
—“Now that guidelines for a return to play have been firmly established by the Maine Principals’ Association and state agencies, high school athletic administrators must address numerous challenges.” — Larry Mahoney, BDN
—“Cellardoor, a prominent Maine winery, is closing its tasting room and event space in Portland this month due to gathering restrictions caused by the pandemic.” — Lauren Abbate, BDN
As of Saturday afternoon, the coronavirus had sickened 6,462,169 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 193,320 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.