State health officials reported five additional deaths linked to COVID-19 on Wednesday as well as 40 new cases of the viral disease.

The number of new cases has fluctuated considerably in recent weeks due, in part, to less frequent updates from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention since the civil state of emergency ended on June 30. But the seven-day average of new cases rose from 18 to 29 during the past week.

With the five additional deaths reported Wednesday, there have now been a total of 867 deaths linked to COVID-19 since the coronavirus was first detected in Maine in March 2020. The Maine CDC periodically reviews death records from recent weeks, which can sometimes result in a larger-than-usual jump in the total. It was unclear Wednesday morning when the five additional deaths occurred.

To date, Maine CDC has tracked a total of 69,324 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19. Hospitalizations have remained relatively constant in recent weeks in Maine as well. While new figures were not yet available Wednesday morning, there were 28 people hospitalized statewide as of Tuesday, with 18 of those being treated in critical care units and six individuals connected to ventilators.

Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases has begun increasing again after a months-long decline, which experts have attributed both to increased gathering as well as the spread of the delta variant, particularly among unvaccinated individuals. Maine and South Dakota were the only states in the country where cases had not been trending upward in the past two weeks.

On the vaccination front, 59.3 percent of Maine’s roughly 1.3 million residents had received their final dose of vaccine as of Wednesday. That figure rises to 67.4 percent when calculated among the age 12 and over population that is eligible for vaccination.

On Tuesday, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Portland International Jetport announced a new vaccination clinic at the airport that will offer shots daily from noon to 8 p.m. to anyone age 18 or older, regardless of their state of residence. The jetport clinic will be offering the single-shot vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson.

This story will be updated.

« Previous

Mother accused of hiding her daughter, who is charged with murdering her own child in Stockton Springs

Next »

Lawmakers commission probe of Maine’s child protective services