Maine CDC reports 581 new cases of virus, 2 more deaths

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday reported 581 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths as the summer outbreak of the pandemic threatens to extend into the fall.

Meanwhile, officials in Maine are now tracking 14 separate outbreaks in public schools, disrupting the start of the school year which is just two weeks old.

The new data brought the 7-day average for new cases to 348.4 and the 14-day average to 366.4. Both averages have been steadily increasing since early July. Cumulative COVID-19 cases in Maine rose to 80,510 on Saturday. Of these, 57,751 have been confirmed by testing and 22,759 are considered probable cases of COVID-19.

Nine hundred and sixty-one people have died from COVID-19 in Maine since the start of the pandemic. Information on those who died on Saturday was not immediately available from the Maine CDC.

The number of outbreaks in schools appears to be increasing, with a myriad of reports of other outbreaks not counted in state data and high school football game cancellations.

President Biden announced on Thursday his intention to require vaccination or weekly testing for employees at workplaces of more than 100 people in a bid to contain COVID-19. The requirement is expected to cover approximately 100 million American workers and will be enforced through the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

Portland City Council has also signaled support for the city’s return to an indoor mask term, but will not vote on a measure until Monday.

As of Saturday morning, Maine had given 858,707 people the last dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of those 12 years of age and older, the population currently eligible for vaccination, 72.51 percent are now fully vaccinated.

As of Friday, Maine had recorded 2,258 “breakthrough” cases, which occur when a fully vaccinated person contracts COVID-19. Unvaccinated people still make up the vast majority of cases, and are also much more likely to have more severe cases if they catch COVID-19.

County by county on Saturday, there had been 9,054 coronavirus cases in Androscoggin, 2,784 in Aroostook, 19,040 in Cumberland, 1,602 in Franklin, 1,832 in Hancock, 7,530 in Kennebec, 1,425 in Knox, 1,316 in Lincoln, 4,012 in Oxford, 8,479 in Penobscot, 838 in Piscataquis, 1,619 in Sagadahoc, 2,837 in Somerset, 1,751 in Waldo, 1,141 in Washington and 15,250 in York.

By age, 19.5% of patients were under 20, while 18.3% were in their twenties, 15.3% in their thirties, 13.3% in their forties, 14.1% in their fifties, 10.1% in their 60s, 5.3% in their 70s, and 4.2% were 80 or older.

Globally on Saturday, there were 223.9 million known cases of COVID-19 and more than 4.6 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has recorded 40.8 million cases and 659,018 deaths.

This story will be updated.

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