Nursing home vaccines/ Maine's tourism roots/ Warming climate

Today is Monday. Temperatures will be in the low to mid 30s from north to south, with partly sunny skies in the north. Here’s what we’re taking about in Maine today.

Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Maine

The Maine CDC reported 230 new coronavirus cases in Maine on Sunday. There are now 7,860 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, and the death toll stands at 292. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information.

The state said Friday it is not safe for schools in Cumberland County to remain open for full-time, in-person instruction for the first time.

COVID-19 vaccines to roll out in Maine nursing homes today

In this July 27, 2020, file photo, nurse Kathe Olmstead prepares a shot that is part of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., in Binghamton, N.Y. Moderna Inc. says it will ask U.S. and European regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine as new study results confirm the shots offer strong protection. Credit: Hans Pennink / AP

Maine nursing home residents and staff are scheduled to get a first round of coronavirus vaccines on Monday as part of a federal partnership with pharmacy chains, though a reduction in doses will lead the program to roll out slower than expected.

Maine’s hard-hit tourism industry falls back on its historic clean outdoor roots

Tourists head to the golf course at the Poland Spring Resort in Poland, which is also known for its water. A 9-hole golf course was built in 1897 and expanded to 18 holes in 1915. Credit: Courtesy of Poland Spring Preservation Society

Tourism’s rise to become one of Maine’s top industries began long ago, but the reasons people flock here — clean water, fresh air and outdoor activities — have mirrored that history during the coronavirus pandemic. While tourism statewide was down more than 30 percent this year, it has recovered from the Great Depression and other calamities in the past. Some areas popular then bucked trends to see visitors increase in 2020.

Nurses: EMMC should cancel elective procedures and patient visits

Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

The union representing more than 900 nurses at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center is demanding that the Bangor hospital cancel elective procedures and most patient visits as it admits record numbers of coronavirus patients and deals with an outbreak that has infected at least 30 people.

Survivor of Nazi Germany among the 13 dead in Deer Isle nursing home’s virus outbreak

Maria Reddaway, 91, died Dec. 9, 2020, as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak at Island Nursing Home in Deer Isle. Reddaway, who survived World War II while growing up in Nazi Germany, is one of 13 residents at the nursing home have died from COVID in the past few weeks. Credit: Courtesy of Maria Mishkind

Maria Reddaway’s daughter thought if her mother could survive growing up in Nazi Germany, she could survive the COVID-19 pandemic, too.

Maine saw 6 signs of a warming climate throughout 2020

Water overflows the bank along the lower tidal section of the Union River in downtown Ellsworth, Maine on the morning of Dec. 14, 2020, into a lawn and parking lot next to a kitchen supply store. The flooding was not caused by rain, but by the combination of stiff winds blowing in from offshore and by exceptionally high monthly tides. Credit: Bill Trotter / BDN

Six types of weather events that struck Maine in 2020 — drought, wildfires, storms, floods, warming oceans and rising sea levels — are expected to make return visits in the coming years as climate change continues to affect the state.

Portland photographer’s vintage pictures make people ‘less sad for what they’ve lost’

Portland photographer John Duncan shoots pictures while Bob Bergeron works on his mural at the new Amistad Mark Perry Center on Forest Avenue on Dec. 4, 2020. Duncan has taken pictures of his life since he was in his teens but only recently started showing his work. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

John Duncan’s 70s photos are not epic. They’re the opposite. Rather than depicting news events, protests or disasters, they illustrate simple, daily life.

Hunting and ATVing increased this year as more Mainers headed outdoors

At the tagging station in Ashland, hunting guide Magella Bouchard, looks at his map to give the location of where his client shot a moose on opening day of the 2020 Maine moose hunt on Sept. 28. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

The COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed travel and hampered traditional vacation plans over the past nine months, but those who enjoy outdoor activities like hunting and ATV riding seem to have spent more time doing so than in pre-pandemic years.

Pandemic leads more Mainers to work fewer hours or in less-skilled jobs

Emma Stanley plays Christmas tunes on Exchange Street in Portland in this 2017 file photo. Stanley, who was touring as a pianist until the coronavirus pandemic hit and is now working delivery and landscaping jobs, is one of tens of thousands of underemployed Mainers. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

The tens of thousands of underemployed Mainers are in addition to the 33,500 workers in the state who were unemployed in November, according to federal data, as more than 30,000 people who have dropped out of the workforce since the start of the pandemic.