Maine reported 24 cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, and no new deaths, making for a moderate rise in cases as the state reports overall low infection rates during the height of the tourism season.
Maine’s cumulative cases rose to 4,168, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 3,747 have been confirmed by testing and 421 are considered probable cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
There have been 127 deaths from COVID-19 in Maine.
Subtracting the number of people who have recovered – 3,624 – and died, there were 417 active cases on Sunday.
Maine businesses this week said compliance with mask-wearing regulations was on the rise, with only a few scattered customers declining or objecting to wearing a face covering. The owner of Sherman’s, a bookshop chain in Maine, and the CEO of Maine Beer Co. in Freeport told the Maine Sunday Telegram that universal mask-wearing now created a “sense of relief” among customers and staff, more than annoyance or opposition.
Greater Portland area police departments said they still respond to scattered calls from businesses dealing with intransigent customers, however. It happens about once a day in Scarborough, and a couple times a month in Falmouth, police there said.
Maine remains in good shape during the height of the tourist season when it comes to infection rates by population. On Thursday morning last week, the state briefly held the U.S.’s lowest case rate, at only 6 per 100,000. Vermont had snatched back the title by Friday evening.
Still, local officials have reported challenges in enforcing social distancing regulations in an unusual place – on the water. The summer has brought large numbers of boats to Maine’s coast, forcing the Maine Marine Patrol break up parties and educate boaters on safety.
County by county in Maine since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 577 cases in Androscoggin, 33 in Aroostook, 2,126 in Cumberland, 47 in Franklin, 40 in Hancock, 172 in Kennebec, 28 in Knox, 35 in Lincoln, 58 in Oxford, 178 in Penobscot, 11 in Piscataquis, 58 in Sagadahoc, 37 in Somerset, 63 in Waldo, 14 in Washington, and 689 in York.
By age, 9.7 percent of patients were under 20, while 16.2 percent were in their 20s, 15.5 percent were in their 30s, 14.7 percent were in their 40s, 16.3 percent were in their 50s, 11.5 percent were in their 60s, 8.1 percent were in their 70s, and 8 percent were 80 or over.
Women still make up a slight majority of cases, at just under 52 percent.
Maine’s hospitals had nine patients with COVID-19 on Sunday, up from five on Saturday. Of those patients, two were in intensive care and one was on a ventilator. There were 145 intensive care unit beds available of a total 402, and 255 ventilators available of 321. There were also 444 alternative ventilators across the state.
Around the world on Sunday, there were over 21.6 million known cases of COVID-19 and more than 769,000 deaths. The United States had more than 5.5 million cases and 172,000 deaths.
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