April 18 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine

April 18 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine

There are now 847 coronavirus cases spread across 15 of Maine’s counties, according to the Maine CDC. That’s up from 827 cases on Friday.

Another three Mainers have died, bringing the statewide death toll up to 32.

So far, 136 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 49 people are currently in the hospital, with 20 in critical condition and 12 on ventilators.

The Maine CDC reports that 382 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, meaning there are 465 active cases in the state at this time.

Piscataquis remains the only county in the state without a confirmed case of the virus.

Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact in Maine.

— Ashton Gardens Gracious Retirement Living in Portland has confirmed a cluster of COVID-19 cases with four residents testing positive for the virus.

— There is a demonstration planned for Monday in front of the Blaine House, protesting the governor’s orders to keep non-essential businesses closed.

— Experts are worried politics will guide voters’ virus precautions. Should differences between Trump and state and local officials persist and people base their actions on their political leanings, that would dangerously complicate the pathway to recovery, officials say.

— Coronavirus concerns will keep Acadia National Park effectively closed to all visitors until June 1, with camping barred until June 15, as park operators extend a shutdown first announced in late March.

— “Power plant employees are just some of the critical behind-the-scenes workers who make sure that front-line healthcare workers can focus on the heroic work of treating the sickest among us,” writes Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, in today’s opinion guest column.

— Farmers markets in Maine will take on a different feel and tone this summer where they will serve more as food distribution sites rather than spots to socialize.

— Experts say that in the past few weeks, the air in Maine has become cleaner, and the atmosphere has become noticeably clearer. These changes have been linked to the nationwide shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more specifically to the significant decrease in emissions from transportation.

— “The quick creation and implementation of a program this size is no small feat, but things created in a rush usually have flaws, and the Paycheck Protection Program is no different,” writes the BDN editorial board.

— The Associated Press debunks the false coronavirus claims and phony remedies circulating on social media.

— Watch: Nirav Shah gives an update about distributing PPE.

—As of 4:30 p.m.. Saturday, the coronavirus has sickened 726,645 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 37,938 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

—Elsewhere in New England, there have been 34,402 cases and 1,404 deaths in Massachusetts; 16,809 cases and 1,036 deaths in Connecticut; 4,491 cases and 137 deaths in Rhode Island; 803 cases and 37 deaths in Vermont; and 1,287 cases and 40 deaths in New Hampshire, according to the New York Times.