4 more Mainers die and another 547 coronavirus cases are reported across the state

This story will be updated.

Another four Mainers have died as health officials on Wednesday reported 547 more coronavirus cases across the state.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 4,870. 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 4,574 on Tuesday.

Of those new cases reported on Wednesday, 448 were from test results submitted before Tuesday, Maine CDC spokesperson Robert Long said.

Three women and a man from Cumberland and Kennebec counties have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 757. They were in their 80s, 70s, 60s and 50s.

Wednesday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 55,374, according to the Maine CDC. That’s up from 54,827 on Tuesday.

Of those, 41,799 have been confirmed positive, while 13,575 were classified as “probable cases,” the Maine CDC reported.

The new case rate statewide Wednesday was 4.09 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 413.73.

Maine’s seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 390.9, up from 369.9 a day ago, up from 315.7 a week ago and up from 177.1 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, 1,747 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Of those, 98 are currently hospitalized, with 33 in critical care and 13 on ventilators. Currently, 81 out of 378 critical care beds and 239 out of 319 ventilators are available. Meanwhile, 446 alternative ventilators are available.

The total statewide hospitalization rate on Wednesday was 13.05 patients per 10,000 residents.

Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (6,041), Aroostook (1,522), Cumberland (14,966), Franklin (1,079), Hancock (1,169), Kennebec (4,890), Knox (869), Lincoln (733), Oxford (2,802), Penobscot (4,955), Piscataquis (405), Sagadahoc (1,126), Somerset (1,573), Waldo (758), Washington (799) and York (11,686) counties. Information about where an additional case was reported wasn’t immediately available.

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

Out of 16,090 COVID-19 tests reported to the Maine CDC in the previous 24 hours, 3.6 percent came back positive. Overall, 2,226,715 tests have been administered and the statewide positivity rate is 2.74 percent.

An additional 9,174 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours. As of Wednesday, 529,263 Mainers have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 395,783 have received a final dose.

New Hampshire reported 376 new cases on Wednesday and no deaths. Vermont reported 97 new cases and no deaths, while Massachusetts reported 1,598 new cases and seven deaths.

As of Wednesday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 31,350,848 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 563,520 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.