Another two Mainers have died as health officials on Tuesday reported 91 more coronavirus cases across the state.
The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 2,535. 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 down from 2,717 on Monday.
That marked the first time Maine has seen new cases slip below 100 for the first time since Nov. 8, when 92 were reported. It’s further evidence that the holiday surge is subsiding, even as cases still remain somewhat higher than they were last fall.
A Kennebec County resident and a York County resident have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 651. The state has also detected its second case of the more contagious United Kingdom variant of the virus in a York County resident who has traveled domestically, said Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
TRACKING THE CORONAVIRUS IN MAINE
Tuesday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 42,768, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 42,677 on Monday.
Of those, 34,054 have been confirmed positive, while 8,714 were classified as “probable cases,” the Maine CDC reported.
The new case rate statewide Tuesday was 0.68 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 319.54.
Maine’s seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 165.6, down from 183 a day ago, down from 237.4 a week ago and down from 600.3 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, 1,487 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Of those, 92 Mainers are currently hospitalized, with 24 in critical care and 11 on ventilators. Out of 392 critical care beds, 117 are currently available. Meanwhile, 246 out of 319 ventilators are available. Currently, 446 alternative ventilators are available.
The total statewide hospitalization rate on Tuesday was 11.11 patients per 10,000 residents.
Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (4,633), Aroostook (1,236), Cumberland (12,021), Franklin (875), Hancock (858), Kennebec (3,489), Knox (614), Lincoln (544), Oxford (2,124), Penobscot (3,695), Piscataquis (242), Sagadahoc (851), Somerset (1,217), Waldo (567), Washington (695) and York (9,107) counties.
For a complete breakdown of the county by county data, use the interactive graphic below.
Overall, 1,682,310 tests have been administered and the statewide positivity rate is 2.98 percent.
An additional 2,466 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours. As of Tuesday, 176,892 Mainers have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 73,021 have received two doses. In response to Tuesday’s snowstorm, many vaccine clinics across the state shuttered for the day.
New Hampshire reported 232 new cases on Tuesday and two deaths. Vermont reported 185 new cases and one death, and Massachusetts reported 1,573 new cases and 33 deaths.
As of Tuesday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 27,731,625 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 487,495 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. That’s an increase of 48,980 cases and 1,384 deaths since Monday.
Nationwide, 54.6 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, an increase of 800,000 doses since Monday, according to Bloomberg.