The total COVID-19 deaths in Maine exceed 500 as the boom continues

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 444 cases of the new coronavirus and 30 additional deaths on Saturday, ending a week when Maine recorded days with new cases of more than 800, as well as further delays by the federal government.

The state’s cumulative affairs rose to 33,219. Of these, 27,249 were confirmed by tests and 5,970 are considered probable cases of COVID-19.

Five hundred and seven people have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began in Maine, and 194 are currently hospitalized with the disease. Of the huge 30 deaths reported Saturday, seven were new, Maine spokesman Robert Long said. The remaining 23 have occurred since December 24 and were recently attributed to COVID-19.

Half of the thirty people were women and half men, Long said. Eight were from Penobscot County, with five each from York and Cumberland, four each from Oxford and Aroostook, two from Hancock and one each from Androscoggin and Kennebec. Two were in their 60s, three were in their 70s, and 25 were 80 or older.

Meanwhile, Maine gave at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 74,805 people, while 11,537 received a second dose. But states expecting an extra boost for their vaccine supply were disappointed last week when they learned from federal officials that a reserve stock released by the Trump administration was already empty.

Both of the vaccines authorized in the U.S. require two doses for full efficacy, and the government’s initial policy was to keep extra shots to make sure those vaccinated received both doses. But Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine program, stopped charging late last year.

Some states have planned to extend the admission to vaccines due to the expected increase in doses since the release of the stock. These plans will now have to be scaled down as the government takes the vaccine doses directly from the production line to send to the states.

In Maine, government Janet Mills recently increased the vaccine priority for people 70 years and older, as well as those at high-risk health conditions. Now government officials say they do not know whether vaccine production will stick to their plans.

State medical networks, which include large hospitals such as the Maine Medical Center, also make plans for large-scale vaccination clinics if large stocks of vaccine are available for general distribution to the public. MaineHealth, the parent of Maine Med, has already vaccinated 22,000 health workers and is ready to set up clinics outside of its health practices across the state.

Meanwhile, the virus is rising among the non-immunized population. Maine reported 823 new cases on Friday and on Saturday the average of seven days to 602 new cases was 602.

In the County of York, the city of Alfred’s fire and rescue team reported an outbreak of COVID-19 that forced officials to close the station and send staff home after the quarantine. City officials announced the outbreak in a report on the municipal website, saying that “multiple” staff members tested positive without specifying how many or who they are.

“Our fire and rescue personnel have, of course, taken all possible precautions, but given all the close contact with other people, it is not surprising that this has taken place,” the announcement reads. responders get the first doses of vaccine, but as you know, the numbers have risen recently and this is a reflection of the increase. ‘

The nearby municipalities of Sanford, Waterboro, Lyman and Kennebunk will help cover emergency calls in Alfred until services resume. Residents of Alfred who need first aid should normally call 9-1-1.

Per province in Maine since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 3,563 cases of coronavirus in Androscoggin, 1,011 in Aroostook, 9,735 in Cumberland, 561 in Franklin, 680 in Hancock, 2,535 in Kennebec, 479 in Knox, 393 in Lincoln , 1 549 in Oxford, 2 535 in Penobscot, 162 in Piscataquis, 613 in Sagadahoc, 938 in Somerset, 428 in Waldo, 492 in Washington and 7 222 in York.

By age, 14.3 percent of patients were younger than 20, while 17.9 percent were in their twenties, 14.5 percent in their thirties, 13.1 percent in their 40s, 15.5 percent in their 50s, 11, 9 percent were in their 60s, 6.9 percent were in their 70s, and 6.1 percent were 80 or older.

Of the 194 patients who had COVID-19 in Maine hospitals Saturday, 59 were in intensive care and 22 in ventilators. The state has 95 beds available for intensive care units, with a total of 392 and 228 ventilators out of 320. There were also 443 alternative ventilators.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there were 94.2 million cases of COVID-19 on Saturday night and more than 2 million deaths. The United States had 23.6 million cases and 394,413 deaths.

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