Maine Tops 2,000 Newly Reported COVID Cases In A Single Day For 1st Time
MAINE (CBS) -- Maine topped 2,000 newly reported COVID cases in a single day for the first time on Friday, setting a record for the most cases within the state for a third consecutive day. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said there were new 2,148 cases on Friday after there were 1,460 announced the day before.
There were also eight new deaths reported Friday, with Androscoggin, Cumberland and Kennebec counties each reporting two new deaths.
Over the last month, there have been several days in which Maine's daily positivity rate among people tested for COVID has risen over 10%. The state is also dealing with a surge in COVID hospitalizations, with a now-record 122 people currently in the ICU with a COVID-related illness. 60 of those patients are on ventilators.
On Wednesday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills activated members of the National Guard to help hospitals across the state face the surge of COVID-19 patients.
Mills also said Thursday that a FEMA COVID Surge Response Team will arrive in Maine as early as this weekend. They will help the Maine Medical Center provide care for people with COVID, along with those with other serious medical issues.
"With this federal team and our soon-to-be-deployed National Guard members, I am hopeful that we can begin to alleviate the strain on our health care system and ensure critical care for those who need it," she wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
According to the Maine CDC, about 73% of Maine's population is fully vaccinated, which is among the best rates among in the U.S. But about two weeks ago, Maine's CDC Director Nirav Shah said roughly 65% of hospitalized COVID patients were unvaccinated and that around 85-90% of COVID patients in the ICU were unvaccinated.
In total, Maine has reported 128,981 cases of COVID-19 and 1,365 deaths.
