Maine surpasses 1,000 deaths as Delta variant fills hospitals

PORTLAND, Maine – Maine topped 1,000 COVID-19 deaths as the Delta variant continues to fill state hospital beds, and Governor Janet Mills used the ‘grim and intrusive milestone’ to lobby on Tuesday for residents to be vaccinated.

18 more deaths recorded in the state since Saturday brought the total to 1,002 since the pandemic began nearly 19 months ago, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday.

Behind the numbers are “parents, grandparents, siblings, kids, loved ones and friends, all precious members of our Maine community,” said Mills.

“We mourn their passing and mourn the moments they can no longer share with us,” she said, urging people to “please get vaccinated today” to protect their loved ones and donate a break for healthcare workers.

According to the Maine CDC, 214 people are currently hospitalized, including 73 in intensive care, which is the highest total since the start of the pandemic. There are currently 58 intensive care beds available.

The seven-day moving average of daily new cases has increased over the past two weeks, from 384 on September 5 to 485 on September 19. The AP uses data collected by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering to measure the number of outbreak cases. and deaths in the United States.

There have also been more than 84,000 infections in the state since the start of the pandemic, the Maine CDC said on Tuesday.

About three-quarters of Maine’s eligible population are fully immunized against the coronavirus.