Maine CDC Reports 417 New COVID-19 Cases and 23 Additional Deaths
According to the Maine CDC's Tuesday update, the cumulative number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Maine is now at 39,960 an increase of 417 since Monday. 32,118 of those cases are confirmed while 7,842 are deemed probable.
There were 23 new deaths reported of individuals with COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths to 618. In the Maine CDC's live briefing Tuesday, Dr. Nirav Shah indicated that 21 of those deaths were reported after a periodic review that the Maine CDC conducts of death certificates across the State of Maine. The dates of those 21 range from December 21 through January 26. 19 of the 21 died from January 19 onward. These death certificates show that a medical provider indicated that COVID-19 was a cause of death of the individual. You hear Dr. Shah's explanation in today's video.
1,403 patients have had to be hospitalized at some point. 164 are currently hospitalized with 51 in intensive care and 28 on a ventilator.
158,071 Mainers have been vaccinated, with 117,613 having had one dose and 40,458 having had both doses.
Since December 5, the Maine CDC has focused its efforts on following up with COVID-19 cases for those persons under 19 and over 64 and no longer provides full active case data. The University of Maine Presque Isle GIS Lab has started providing an estimated active case number which is calculated as the difference in total cases in a 12-day interval. That number on Tuesday was 4,332 estimated active cases.
Governor Janet Mills has lifted the 9 p.m. curfew for certain businesses. The curfew applied to all Maine outdoor and indoor amusement venues, movie theaters, performing arts venues, casinos, and businesses that provide seated food and drink service, including social clubs, restaurants, and bars and tasting rooms open for outdoor service. The Governor said that the reason for ending the curfew was a result of Maine’s improving public health metrics, including a decrease in Maine’s positivity rate and new COVID-19 cases per million.
Governor Mills announced a new executive order December 11 requiring Mainers to wear face coverings in all indoor public spaces and prohibits owners from letting anyone in who is not wearing a face covering. The order also states that claiming a medical exemption is not an excuse to enter without a face covering.
Governor Mills has extended the State of Emergency in Maine through February 17, allowing Maine to continue to receive federal funding and use available resources to respond to COVID-19.
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.
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