43% of Mainers Have Had at Least the First Dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine

According to the Maine CDC's Monday update, the cumulative number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Maine is now at 48,642 an increase of 178 since Sunday. 37,559 of those cases are confirmed while 11,083 are deemed probable.

There was one additional death reported of an individual with COVID-19 bringing the total number of deaths at 729. 1,630 patients have had to be hospitalized at some point. 71 are currently hospitalized with 24 in intensive care and 13 on a ventilator.

584,455 Mainers have received the COVID-19 vaccine with 365,338 having had one dose and 219,073 having been fully vaccinated. The equates to approximately about 16% of Mainers that are fully vaccinated and 27% of Mainers that have received the first of two does of the vaccine.

Mainers 50 years of age or older will be eligible for the vaccine beginning March 23 and those 16 and older will be eligible beginning April 19.

On March 5, Governor Mills announced a plan to allow business to increase their capacity and removed restrictions on those traveling to and from Maine. All New England states no longer need to show proof of a negative COVID test or quarantine for 14 days when arriving in Maine.

Here's the timeline for relaxing restrictions on number or people allowed in businesses:

• For indoor gatherings, the percentage of capacity will increase to 50 percent starting March 26 and 75 percent starting May 24.
• For outdoor gatherings, the percentage of capacity will increase to 75 percent starting March 26 and 100 percent starting May 24.
• Those businesses that have more capacity under the current policy (50 people for indoor gatherings; 100 people for outdoor gatherings; or 5 people per 1,000 square feet) are permitted to maintain that standard until May 24.

Governor Mills has extended the State of Emergency in Maine through March 18, allowing Maine to continue to receive federal funding and use available resources to respond to COVID-19.

You can view the full list of businesses and read the guidelines for each on The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development's website.

If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, including a runny nose, sore throat, dry cough, fever and in severe cases, difficulty breathing, the Maine CDC says you should call your doctor before going in so that they can prepare for your arrival. The Maine CDC continues to update with new information daily. Keep checking on our mobile app or website to get the latest.