April 24 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine

April 24 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine

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There have now been 965 coronavirus cases confirmed in all of Maine’s counties, according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah. That’s up from 937 on Thursday.

The latest deaths, a total of three since Thursday, involve a man in his 70s from Cumberland County, a woman in her 90s from Kennebec County and a man in his 60s York County, according to Shah. One of the deaths is affiliated with the Augusta Center for Health and Rehabilitation, the fourth death at the facility.

The statewide death toll now stands at 47.

So far, 152 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 39 people are currently hospitalized in the state, with 17 in critical care and seven on ventilators, according to the Maine CDC.

Here is the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.

— A second person who visited the Hope House shelter in Bangor has tested positive for COVID-19, a spokesman said. Officials confirmed the case earlier this week, although the shelter doesn’t believe the person caught the virus from the first shelter guest who tested positive on Saturday, April 18, said Dan Cashman.

—With 44 events cancelled due to coronavirus concerns so far, the Augusta Civic Center’s financial debt is mounting, and the city’s general fund will have to cover the center’s budget shortfalls, WABI-TV reports. The center anticipates being in debt by $400,000 by the end of June, a total that could reach $700,000 by September, said Earl Kingsbury, the center’s director.

—Many Mainers have faced long delays in receiving their unemployment checks. Maine’s labor commissioner said Friday the state will streamline processing of 20,000 unemployment claims that were awaiting fact-finding interviews scheduled as late as July while the coronavirus places unprecedented stress on the system.

—More and more people with backgrounds in health care, public health and emergency response have volunteered to help join the fight against the pandemic in Maine, but no hospitals have needed them so far, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

—The University of Maine System will offer college students stranded by the permanent closure of their campuses the chance to finish their degrees in Maine starting this fall while paying in-state tuition. Called the “Maine Welcome,” the offer from the University of Maine System is the first of its kind nationally. The offer allows students from across the country to apply to transfer to a public university in Maine to continue their degree.

— Mainers hunkering down at home have adopted a new pandemic pastime to stay entertained — teddy bear hunting. “Teddy Bear Hunts” have become a favorite for restless kids and people in the mood for a game of iSpy, right in their own neighborhoods.

— Lab personnel say worries are mounting over the safety of a rapid coronavirus test by Abbott Laboratories that President Donald Trump has repeatedly lauded — particularly, the risk of infection to those handling it.

— President Donald Trump signed a $484 billion bill Friday to aid employers and hospitals under stress from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 50,000 Americans and devastated broad swaths of the economy. The bill is the latest effort by the federal government to help keep afloat businesses that have had to close or dramatically alter their operations as states try to slow the spread of the virus.

—The BDN Editorial Board writes: “There have been a lot of bad days as of late, and a lot of bad news. It may sound trite, but even through the trials and tragedy of a global pandemic, it’s important to remember that good things are happening every day. On some days, there might even be miracles.”

— As of early Friday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 890,524 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 50,890 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

— Elsewhere in New England, there have been 2,360 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 1,764 in Connecticut, 202 in Rhode Island, 53 in New Hampshire and 44 in Vermont.