Maine sets new COVID-19 record with 828 new cases

AUGUSTA — The Maine Center for Disease Control said Friday morning there are at least 828 new positive cases of COVID-19, the highest daily increase to date, and that 16 more Mainers have died after contracting COVID-19, bringing the statewide death toll to 477. The new cumulative total for cases statewide since the pandemic hit Maine is now at least 32,781.

The 16 new deaths reported included five residents of Aroostook County, and two residents each of Penobscot, Washington, Hancock, Androscoggin and Cumberland counties, Maine CDC said in an update Friday afternoon. State health officials said the other person who died was from Oxford County.

Thirteen of the people who died were women, while three were men, according to Maine CDC. One was between 40 and 49 years old, one was between 50 and 59 years old, two were between 60 and 69 years old, two were between 70 and 79 years old, and 10 were 80 or older.

Last week, the Maine CDC website started posting a statement that indicated the actual number of positive cases in the state is higher than the numbers shown on its website. Last month, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said there was a backlog of cases affecting the accurate reporting of case numbers.

As of Friday, 70,228 COVID-19 vaccines had been administered, 59,611 of which were first doses and 10,617 of which were second doses, Maine CDC said.

The latest Maine CDC COVID-19 statistics also show 11,876 people have completed isolations after having contracted the virus, while a total of 1,228 people have required hospitalization to treat the virus, state health officials said.

Also as of Friday, there were 193 people hospitalized for COVID-19. Friday’s data indicated of those people hospitalized, 61 were being treated in intensive care units, while 24 people were on ventilators.

The next Maine CDC COVID-19 briefing with Dr. Nirav Shah is scheduled for 2 p.m. today. The briefing will be streamed on foxbangor.com and the Fox ABC Maine Facebook page.

For more information about COVID-19 in Maine, visit the Maine CDC website.