2 Mainers die as 236 new virus cases are reported

Two more Mainers have died as health officials on Sunday reported 236 new coronavirus cases across the state.

Sunday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 10,359. Of those, 9,294 have been confirmed positive, while 1,065 were classified as “probable cases,” according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials have warned Mainers that “forceful and widespread” community transmission is being seen throughout the state. Five counties are seeing high community transmission: Franklin, Knox, Somerset, Waldo and Washington counties.

New cases were reported in Androscoggin (44), Aroostook 13), Cumberland (68), Franklin (2), Hancock (5), Kennebec (11), Knox (6), Lincoln (2), Oxford (6), Penobscot (21), Piscataquis (1), Sagadahoc (6), Somerset (5), Waldo (7) and York (45) counties, state data show. Information about where eight additional cases was reported wasn’t immediately available.

One county — Washington — didn’t report any new cases on Sunday.

The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 204.6, up from 192.3 a day ago, up from 178 a week ago and up from 34.1 a month ago.

There are two criteria for establishing community transmission: at least 10 confirmed cases and that at least 25 percent of those are not connected to either known cases or travel.

While rates remain lower than most of the U.S, Maine continues to see a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases.

Outbreaks also continue to occur across the state, including a new outbreak at Bath Iron Works, which has had other cases in the past.

There are now 80 known cases of coronavirus among more than 30,000 University of Maine System students, faculty and staff, according to UMS spokesperson Dan Demeritt.

Of the 80 cases reported, 21 are among residence hall students. 

There  are 60 cases with 13 new cases involve students — nine commuter and four residential — at the University of Maine; Three cases at University of Maine at Augusta; One case at University of Maine at Machias; Four cases at University of Maine at Presque Isle; and 10 cases at University of Southern Maine with one commuter student released from isolation. 

The only two schools in the UMS with no active cases of coronavirus are University of Maine at Fort Kent and University of Maine Law School.

The statewide death toll now stands at 176. The deaths involved a man in his 60s from Androscoggin County and a man in his 80s from Franklin County. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.

So far, 642 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Ninety-four are currently hospitalized, with 42 in critical care and 11 on a ventilator.

Meanwhile, 78 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 7,791. That means there are 2,392 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, which is up from 2,068 on Saturday.

A majority of the cases — 59.7 percent — have been in Mainers under age 50, while more cases have been reported in women than men, according to the Maine CDC.

As of Friday, there had been 795,936 negative test results out of 808,227. About 1.46 percent of all tests have come back positive, the most recently available Maine CDC data show.

The coronavirus has hit hardest in Cumberland County, where 3,556 cases have been reported and where the bulk of virus deaths — 71 — have been concentrated. Other cases have been reported in Androscoggin (1,370), Aroostook (95), Franklin (194), Hancock (213), Kennebec (668), Knox (188), Lincoln (134), Oxford (285), Penobscot (649), Piscataquis (35), Sagadahoc (134), Somerset (402), Waldo (210), Washington (178) and York (2,040) counties. Information about where eight additional cases was reported wasn’t immediately available.

As of Sunday afternoon, the coronavirus had sickened 12,177,301 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 256,442 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.