Another two Mainers have died as 201 coronavirus cases have been reported across the state, Maine health officials said Friday.
The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 3,446. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. That’s down from 3,604 on Thursday.
TRACKING THE CORONAVIRUS IN MAINE
The state is grappling with the appearance of a more infectious variant of the virus in a Franklin County resident. The strain of the virus, known as the B.1.1.7 variant and first detected in the United Kingdom, seems to be between 40 and 70 percent more contagious than other variants. Here is what you need to know about the new strain.
Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah warned earlier this month that a resurgence in virus transmission is possible if new virus variants appear in Maine, which is still seeing new caseloads well above where they were prior to late October.
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A Cumberland County resident and a Penobscot County resident succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 643.
Friday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 42,259, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 42,058 on Thursday.
Of those, 33,713 have been confirmed positive, while 8,546 were classified as “probable cases,” the Maine CDC reported.
The new case rate statewide Friday was 1.5 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 315.74.
Maine’s seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 208.9, down from 217.9 a day ago, down from 284.9 a week ago and down from 538 a month ago. That rate has been steadily falling since Jan. 14, when it peaked at 625.6.
The most cases have been detected in Mainers in their 20s, while Mainers over 80 years old make up the majority of deaths. More cases and deaths have been recorded in women than men.
For a complete breakdown of the age and sex demographics of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, use the interactive graphic below.
So far, 1,469 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Currently, Mainers are hospitalized with 24 in critical care and nine on a ventilator. Out of 395 critical care beds, 117 are available. Of ventilators, 246 out of 319 are available.
The total statewide hospitalization rate on Friday was 10.98 patients per 10,000 residents.
Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (4,580), Aroostook (1,215), Cumberland (11,895), Franklin (863), Hancock (841), Kennebec (3,441), Knox (601), Lincoln (534), Oxford (2,103), Penobscot (3,648), Piscataquis (239), Sagadahoc (846), Somerset (1,195), Waldo (561), Washington (690) and York (9,007) counties.
For a complete breakdown of the county by county data, use the interactive graphic below.
Overall, 1,682,310 tests have been administered and the statewide positivity rate is 2.98 percent. The state’s seven-day PCR positivity rate is 1.94, the first time it has dropped below a rate of 2 since Nov. 7, according to the Maine CDC.
An additional 10,282 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours. As of Friday, 162,662 Mainers have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 63,522 have received two doses.
New Hampshire reported 365 new cases on Friday and one death. Vermont reported 127 new cases and one death, and Massachusetts reported 2,450 new cases and 62 deaths.
As of Friday evening, the coronavirus had sickened 27,477,820 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 480,446 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.