Maine CDC reports 312 COVID-19 cases, no new deaths

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 312 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and no additional deaths. The fourth consecutive day of new cases counts more than 300 as infections appear among young people.

Although about 37 percent of Mainers have now received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC statistics, the unvaccinated population is disproportionately young. And this is where the virus spreads. People under 30 had 45 percent of the 438 new cases Friday.

Maine’s cumulative COVID-19 cases rose to 53,745 on Saturday, of which 40,773 were confirmed by tests and 12,972 are considered probable cases of COVID-19. The average of seven days of new daily cases on Saturday was 333.8.

Fifty-seven people have been killed by COVID-19 since the Maine pandemic began.

Maine health officials last week made access to vaccinations for all residents over the age of 16, thanks to the strong increase in the vaccine. However, it may be harder to find an appointment next week. Demand is higher, but also next week the state expects a much smaller allocation of doses, especially the single-and-graft Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Clinics at the Augusta Fire Department and Noble High School were canceled this weekend and several hundred appointments were canceled after organizers were notified they would not receive the doses they expected.

As of Saturday, 502,644 Mainers had received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 367,741 their final dose. Out of Maine’s 1.3 million population, 37.39 percent, according to Maine CDC statistics, received their first dose.

The vaccination rate across the state has risen as inventory and fitness increase. Last Saturday, 33.65 percent of Mainers received a first dose, meaning about 4 percent of the state population got their first chance last week.

Land for county as of Saturday there were 5,822 cases of coronavirus in Androscoggin, 1,467 in Aroostook, 14,633 in Cumberland, 1,043 in Franklin, 1,126 in Hancock, 4,673 in Kennebec, 846 in Knox, 706 in Lincoln, 2,728 in Oxford, 4,836 in Penobscot, 398 in Piscataquis, 1,075 in Sagadahoc, 1,521 in Somerset, 738 in Waldo, 793 in Washington and 11,339 in York.

Cumberland County had the most new cases in the past week, with 486, followed by York’s 450 and Androscoggin’s 405.

By age, 16.7 percent of patients were younger than 20, while 18.4 percent were in their twenties, 14.3 percent in their thirties, 13.3 percent in their 40s, 15.2 percent in their 50s, 11, 2 percent were in their 60s, 6 percent were in their 70s, and 4.9 percent were 80 or older.

Of the 68 patients who had COVID-19 Saturday in Maine hospitals, 28 were in intensive care and 12 in ventilators. The state has 86 beds available for intensive care units, of which a total of 376 and 238 ventilators out of 319 were available. There were also 446 alternative fans.

There were more than 134.7 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide and 2.9 million deaths worldwide on Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has had 31 million cases and 561,000 deaths.

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