2 Mainers die as the state sees highest number of new cases since January

This story will be updated.

Another two Mainers have died as health officials on Friday reported 438 more coronavirus cases across the state.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 3,991. 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 up from 3,806 on Thursday.

Two men succumbed from the virus — one from Cumberland County and the other from Sagadahoc County — bringing the statewide death toll to 750.

It’s the highest number of new cases reported since Jan. 27, when the number of new cases reached 462.

However, of the additional cases included in Friday’s update, 241 are from test results reported within the previous 24 hours, while the others are from test results reported from earlier in the week, a Maine CDC spokesperson said. 

Friday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 53,434, according to the Maine CDC. That’s up from 52,996 on Thursday.

Of those, 40,547 have been confirmed positive, while 12,887 were classified as “probable cases,” the Maine CDC reported.

The new case rate statewide Friday was 3.27 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 399.24.

Maine’s seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 321.7, up from 316 a day ago, up from 252.3 a week ago and up from 160.9 a month ago. That average peaked on Jan. 14 at 625.3.

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, 1,722 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Of those, 77 are currently hospitalized with 29 in critical care and 13 on a ventilator. Eighty-nine out of 383 critical care beds and 232 out of 319 ventilators are available. Meanwhile, 446 alternative ventilators are available. 

The total statewide hospitalization rate on Friday was 12.87 patients per 10,000 residents.

Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (5,767), Aroostook (1,461), Cumberland (14,567), Franklin (1,038), Hancock (1,120), Kennebec (4,628), Knox (843), Lincoln (699), Oxford (2,708), Penobscot (4,828), Piscataquis (397), Sagadahoc (1,060), Somerset (1,505), Waldo (737), Washington (791) and York (11,284) counties. Information about an additional case was not immediately available Friday.

For a complete breakdown of the county by county data, use the interactive graphic below.

Overall, 2,164,556 tests have been administered and the statewide positivity rate is 2.68 percent.

An additional 24,289 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours. As of Friday, 493,489 Mainers have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 354,393 have received a final dose. 

As of Friday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 31,003,070 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 560,115 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.