March 21 evening update: Latest on the coronavirus and Maine

March 21 evening update: Latest on the coronavirus and Maine

As of 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21, 70 Maine residents have been confirmed positive for the coronavirus, according to the state.

Here’s a roundup of today’s COVID-19 news in Maine and New England, as of 5:30 p.m. To read all of our coverage, click here.

— Seventy cases of the new coronavirus were reported in Maine on Saturday, up from 56 the day before.

— So far, the coronavirus has hit hardest in Cumberland County, where 41 cases have been detected. Other cases have been detected in Androscoggin (3), Kennebec (4), Lincoln (4), Oxford (4), Penobscot (2), Sagadahoc (1), and York (8) counties.

— The Maine CDC on Saturday also changed the way it reported coronavirus case counts, eliminating a category called “presumptive positive” for tests conducted by private laboratories, then confirmed by the Maine CDC. Now, because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confidence in Maine CDC’s ability to confirm positive test results from non-governmental labs, the state agency is reporting all such positive cases as “confirmed.”

— The Maine CDC on Saturday said the number of residents who had recovered from the virus had risen to three.

— On Saturday, Maine’s congressional delegation wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, urging him to quickly release personal protective equipment from the federal stockpile to keep health care workers responding to the pandemic safe.

— A sixth resident of the OceanView at Falmouth retirement community has tested positive for COVID-19. The resident is being cared for at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

— Inspired by isolated Italians singing together from their balconies during the coronavirus pandemic, the Deering Center Neighborhood Association organized a community singing event on Saturday morning. Standing on their own sides of the street, on their porches and in their yards, residents sang “Here Comes the Sun” and “Let it Be.”

— The Maine Department of Education has published a map that allows parents and students to see if their local schools are offering meals.

— Want to visit some public trails parks during your social distancing? Here are some tips.

— Trying to make your food last during this time is hard. Have you tried making bone broth?

— U.S. tourists stranded abroad don’t know when they’ll return.

— The BDN has been compiling questions about the coronavirus submitted by our readers. You can find the answers to those questions here.

— The Maine CDC set up a coronavirus hotline. The hotline is available by calling 211 or 866-811-5695. It can also be reached by texting your zip code to 207-898-211 or emailing info@211maine.org.

— Throughout the rest of New England, Massachusetts has 413 confirmed or presumed cases, Connecticut has 194, New Hampshire has 55, Rhode Island has 44 and Vermont has 29.

— Nationwide, there are 21,365 cases and 266 deaths from the coronavirus as of Saturday evening, according to The New York Times.