Maine sees deadliest day yet for COVID-19, reporting record 41 deaths, 782 new cases

Maine reported 41 new deaths on Friday, the deadliest record of additional one-day COVID-19 deaths in the state since the start of the pandemic. There were 782 new cases of the disease, also a record.

Overall, Maine has had 28,407 COVID-19 cases and 426 deaths. The previous one-day high was 748 on December 23.

For deaths, the highest one-day total was 20 on December 1, although deaths are often not reported to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the same day. The deaths recorded on any given day are usually a net increase in deaths that occurred over a few days.

Deaths have increased in Maine since Dec. 1, more than doubling the statewide total. Since the end of November, the cumulative death toll in Maine has fallen from 194 to 426.

Dr John Alexander, chief medical officer of Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston, said Thursday he was concerned.

“Unfortunately, we’re going to see this uptrend for a while,” Alexander said. “One leads to the other. The cases lead to hospitalizations and then death. “

Treatments for COVID-19 have improved since the spring and patients are more likely to survive. But the disease is still fatal, about five times more fatal than the flu in hospital patients, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, will brief the media today at 2 p.m.

This story will be updated.

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