| Today is Tuesday. There have now been 2,810 confirmed and likely cases of the new coronavirus in all of Maine’s counties since the outbreak began here in March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. A woman in her 40s from Androscoggin County is the latest person to have died from the coronavirus in Maine, bringing the statewide death toll to 101. It was the first death recorded in the state in nearly a week. So far, 317 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 31 people are currently hospitalized, with 11 in critical care and four on ventilators. Meanwhile, 2,189 people have fully recovered from the virus, meaning there are 520 active and likely cases in the state, according to the Maine CDC. That’s unchanged since Sunday. Here’s a roundup of the latest news about the coronavirus and its impact in Maine. — The Maine CDC will provide an update on the coronavirus this afternoon. The BDN will livestream the briefing. — “Restaurants in Cumberland, York and Androscoggin counties will be allowed to resume dine-in service on Wednesday, joining those in the rest of Maine that have been allowed to reopen on a limited basis. Gov. Janet Mills angered business owners in those counties in late May when she delayed the scheduled reopening of dine-in service due to surges in coronavirus cases. But the Democratic governor said Monday that the rates of new cases and hospitalizations stabilized in the three counties, which made it possible for more businesses to resume activities.” — Jessica Piper, BDN — “Maine is hoping to avoid the path of nearly two dozen states that have seen coronavirus cases rise as they have reopened. Reopening with a lower prevalence could help Maine keep transmission down, but these areas will be the ones to watch as the state allows them to reopen on par with less affected parts of the state.” — Jessica Piper, BDN — “While the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a major blow to the U.S. economy, the largest Maine-based bank has so far managed to stay ahead of the downturn that arrived just as it was finishing a banner fiscal year. On March 31, Bangor Savings Bank ended the 2019-2020 fiscal year with $4.86 billion in assets, which was up a record-breaking 9.38 percent from the year before, the company announced on Monday afternoon.” — Charles Eichacker, BDN — “In ordinary times, [drug court participants] would meet every other week in a courtroom at the Penobscot Judicial Center. Each accomplishment would be met with applause and often hugs. But these aren’t ordinary times.” — Judy Harrison, BDN — “Bates College is considering a plan for reopening that would involve splitting semesters, masks and “a lot of hand sanitizer.” College President Clayton Spencer told alumni the college aims to open for students in early September and to send them home before Thanksgiving. They’ll take finals remotely.” — The Associated Press — “From cops to lifeguards, all emergency responders in four York County municipalities will be eligible to be tested for COVID-19 antibodies starting Tuesday to see if they have had the virus and learn more about how it spreads.” — Nick Sambides Jr., BDN — “U.S. regulators on Monday revoked emergency authorization for malaria drugs promoted by President Donald Trump for treating COVID-19 amid growing evidence they don’t work and could cause serious side effects. The Food and Drug Administration said the drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are unlikely to be effective in treating the coronavirus. Citing reports of heart complications, the FDA said the drugs’ unproven benefits ‘do not outweigh the known and potential risks.’” — Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press — As of early Tuesday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 2,114,026 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 116,127 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. — Elsewhere in New England, there have been 7,647 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 4,204 in Connecticut, 851 in Rhode Island, 320 in New Hampshire and 55 in Vermont.
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