Watch the briefing: over 200 daily cases again in Maine; 2 additional deaths

Maine health officials reported 224 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths on Friday.

This is the 15th time in the past 17 days that daily cases have exceeded 150 and the fifth time in the past 11 days that cases have exceeded 200. The 7-day average for daily cases is now 188, down from 32 only a month ago. .

The check-in area for the Covid test site at the Portland Jetport Thursday, November 12. Staff photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

There have now been 26 deaths so far this month, the third highest number after April (51) and May (37). Only six people died in October.

90 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 on Friday – the highest total since the start of the pandemic. More than half, 49, were in intensive care and 12 were on a ventilator. Exactly one month ago, only nine people were hospitalized.

Hospitals have started to prepare for more patients and have the capacity to convert beds to intensive care, but officials are increasingly concerned that if the current trend worsens it could overwhelm the healthcare system. health.

The impact on hospitals is already being felt. MaineHealth confirmed on Friday that at least three staff at the Cardiothoracic ICU at Maine Medical Center tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, resulting in the postponement of all elective surgical procedures that rely on the unit while that other staff are tested and retested.

MaineHealth spokesperson John Porter said staff were believed to have been exposed in the community when not on duty.

“Right now people have to be hyper-vigilant because it’s everywhere,” he said.

The unit – which takes care of postoperative thoracic surgery patients – always treats emergency and emerging cases.

Governor Janet Mills updated the state’s color-coding system for schools on Friday and moved York County to the yellow category, joining the counties of Androscoggin, Franklin, Somerset and Washington. York was designated yellow in September, then switched to green last month.

A yellow categorization means high risk and advises schools to consider additional precautions such as hybrid learning models or reducing the number of people in schools in classrooms. Many schools, even those in counties with green designations, are already taking additional safety measures.

Knox County, which had been classified as yellow, returned to green as its per capita case rate fell below the state average. Cumberland, Hancock and Kennebec remain green but will be closely watched. All other counties are classified as green.

Since the reopening of K-12 public schools, there are 259 confirmed or probable cases among students or staff, according to data from the Maine Department of Education. As of Friday, there were 17 schools with open outbreaks, including three with more than five cases – Guy Rowe Elementary in Norway, Farrington Elementary School in Augusta and Thornton Academy in Saco.

In addition to the cases, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of students and teachers who have been forced into quarantine due to possible exposure.

Also on Friday, Mills announced that she is providing an additional $ 6.2 million in the state’s federal coronavirus relief funds to Maine Housing’s COVID-19 Rental Relief program. This will allow the program to continue until December for tenants who cannot afford rent.

“I join my fellow governors from both parties across the country in calling on the United States Senate and the President to provide desperately needed relief to families in Maine who are struggling to make ends meet during this pandemic,” Mills said in a statement. communicated. “In the meantime, I will do my best to keep people safe in their homes during the holiday season.”

Mills on Thursday put in place a 9 p.m. curfew for all restaurants, cinemas, tasting rooms and casinos – his administration’s latest attempt to curb what has been maintained since last month. Limited hours last until December 6.

Mills had previously reduced the limit on indoor gatherings, strengthened the state’s mask mandate for public places and postponed the opening of bars indefinitely. The governor also warned Thursday that “further measures may be needed in the coming weeks if we do not get this virus under control.”

The director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Nirav Shah, is due to brief the media on Friday afternoon.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 9,958 confirmed or probable cases in Maine, 628 people have been hospitalized at some point and 173 people have died. The number of active cases on Friday jumped to 2,195, 35 more than Thursday and more than triple the number this time last month (637). New cases have been reported in all counties except Sagadahoc, led by York County (44), Cumberland County (43) and Androscoggin County (40).

There are active cases in all 16 counties and 13 counties in Maine have high or extensive community transmission, which is defined as a rate of new cases greater than or equal to 16 per 10,000 people in the past 28 days. This is an increase from five high transmission counties just two weeks ago.

Somerset County has the highest rate – 47.94 cases per 10,000 people, followed by Washington County with 45.25 cases.

Two counties – Piscataquis and Sagadahoc – experience moderate community transmission, which is defined as a rate of new cases greater than or equal to eight but less than 16 per 10,000 people.

Only Aroostook County has low or no community transmission, defined as a rate of new cases of less than eight per 10,000 population. Its rate is 4.62 cases per 10,000 people.

Maine was not alone in the recent outbreak. Almost every other state has also seen a dramatic increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. According to the COVID Tracking project, there were more than 183,000 new cases across the country on Thursday and 81,000 people are currently hospitalized. Both were records. There were also 1,971 deaths, the highest daily total since May 7.

The total number of cases in the United States has exceeded 11 million, and deaths eclipsed 250,000.

Many states have imposed restrictions in recent days, including closing restaurants for in-person dining and placing limits on private gatherings, but have so far avoided door-to-door orders. New Hampshire became the last New England state on Thursday to implement a mask warrant in public spaces.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued recommendations on Thursday urging people not to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Editor Colin Woodard contributed to this story

This story will be updated.

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