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Maine CDC reports 417 new COVID-19 cases, five more deaths
Average case numbers are declining after weeks of steady increases, but hospitalizations continue to inch upward and demand for vaccine doses has slowed.
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Average case numbers are declining after weeks of steady increases, but hospitalizations continue to inch upward and demand for vaccine doses has slowed.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday reported 417 new cases of COVID-19 and five additional deaths, an elevated case count amid a general decline as nearly 50 percent of Mainers have been vaccinated against the virus.
The seven-day average of new daily cases stood at 297.7 on Saturday, down from 381.9 a week ago but still higher than the running average of 260.7 new cases reported for the week ending April 3. Much of the recent surge in new cases has been driven by infections among younger people, prompting appeals from Maine CDC director Dr. Nirav Shah and others f
Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
LEWISTON State health officials reported 38 new cases of COVID-19 in Androscoggin County on Friday and the death of two residents, a man and a woman, one in their 70s and one in their 80s.
The Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention reported 268 new cases across the state, but the high number of hospitalizations this week is a reminder of the mid-month surge in cases in Maine and in Androscoggin County.
A total of 121 people in the state were hospitalized with the disease as of Friday morning, according to data tracked by the Maine CDC. Fifty-nine were in critical care, the highest since Jan. 26. Fifteen were on ventilators.
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Maine school leaders urge state to move quickly on COVID-19 guidelines for fall
As parents in some districts clamor for more in-person learning, the state s superintendents are pressing state agencies to issue COVID-19 guidelines for the fall term as soon as possible.
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Maine school superintendents are pressing the state for information on what COVID-19 restrictions might be in place in the fall, making the request as the current school year winds down amid tensions in some districts over limits on classroom education.
Steven Bailey, executive director of the Maine School Superintendents Association, said administrators realize state agencies shouldn’t be expected to know yet what pandemic restrictions could be in effect, but the issue needs to be raised so school districts aren’t scrambling this summer to prepare for the start of school.
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Maine school superintendents are pressing the state for information on what COVID-19 restrictions might be in place in the fall, making the request as the current school year winds down amid tensions in some districts over limits on classroom education.
Steven Bailey, executive director of the Maine School Superintendents Association, said administrators realize state agencies shouldn’t be expected to know yet what pandemic restrictions could be in effect, but the issue needs to be raised so school districts aren’t scrambling this summer to prepare for the start of school.
“Obviously, the earlier the better,” Bailey said. “We don’t want it to be that come Aug. 1, we still don’t know what we are doing.”
Maine CDC reports 417 COVID-19 cases, five deaths
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The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday reported 417 cases of COVID-19 and five deaths, an elevated case count amid a general decline as nearly 50 percent of Mainers have been vaccinated against the virus.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is offering walk-in shots at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds in Oxford County, after closing a clinic that ran for much of the past week in Biddeford. Despite Maine’s high vaccination rate, demand has been lagging, so vaccine clinics increasingly have been offering walk-in options.
People under 30 accounted for 207 of the new cases reported on Saturday, or 49 percent of the daily total.