5 more Mainers die as another 441 coronavirus cases are reported across the state
By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff
This story will be updated.
Another five Mainer has died as health officials on Friday reported 441 new coronavirus cases across the state.
Friday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 18,337. Of those, 15,942 have been confirmed positive, while 2,395 were classified as “probable cases,” according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency revised Thursday’s cumulative total to 17,896, down from 17,901, meaning there was an increase of 436 over the previous day’s report. As the Maine CDC continues to investigate previously reported cases, some are determined to have not been the coronavirus, or coronavirus cases not involving Mainers. Those are removed from the state’s cumulative total. The Bangor Daily News reports on the number of new cases reported to the Maine CDC in the previous 24 hours, rather than the increase of daily cumulative cases.
Four Kennebec County residents and a York County resident have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 281. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.
New cases were reported in Androscoggin (29), Aroostook (24), Cumberland (113), Franklin (7), Hancock (13), Kennebec (30), Knox (8), Lincoln (12), Oxford (45), Penobscot (38), Piscataquis (3), Sagadahoc (15), Somerset (12), Waldo (4), Washington (12) and York (63) counties, state data show. Information about where an additional 13 cases were reported wasn’t immediately available.
The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 449.7, up from 435.6 a day ago, up from 354.1 a week ago and up from 180.6 a month ago.
Friday’s report comes after back-to-back days of record high virus transmission. Despite falling from Thursday’s dizzying high 613 new cases, it marks the eighth time in 10 days when new cases surged past 400.
Health officials have warned Mainers that “forceful and widespread” community transmission is being seen throughout the state. Every county is seeing high community transmission, which the Maine CDC defines as a case rate of 16 or more cases per 10,000 people.
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.
So far, 965 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Information about those currently hospitalized wasn’t immediately available.
Meanwhile, 56 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 10,744. That means there are 7,312 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, which is up from 6,937 on Thursday.
A majority of the cases — 10,795 — have been in Mainers under age 50, while more cases have been reported in women than men, according to the Maine CDC.
As of Thursday, there have been 1,055,654 negative test results out of 1,079,545 overall. About 2.1 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 5,545 cases have been reported and where the bulk of virus deaths — 82 — have been concentrated. Other cases have been reported in Androscoggin (2,104), Aroostook (382), Franklin (372), Hancock (469), Kennebec (1,359), Knox (291), Lincoln (226), Oxford (813), Penobscot (1,483), Piscataquis (86), Sagadahoc (272), Somerset (610), Waldo (324), Washington (276) and York (3,711) counties. Information about where an additional 14 cases were reported wasn’t immediately available.
As of Friday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 17,213,887 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 310,792 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.