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 May 13 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine


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There have now been 1,515 cases across all of Maine’s counties since March, according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah. That’s up from 1,477 on Tuesday.

Of those, 1,372 have been confirmed positive, while 143 are likely positive.

The latest coronavirus death, which was announced Wednesday, was a woman in her 90s from Cumberland County, bringing the statewide death toll to 66.

[Our COVID-19 tracker contains the most recent information on Maine cases by county]

So far, 204 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 41 people are currently hospitalized, with 20 in critical care and seven on ventilators, according to Shah.

Meanwhile, 943 Mainers have fully recovered from the coronavirus, leaving 506 active and likely cases in the state. That’s up from 499 on Tuesday.

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

—For the second time, Gov. Janet Mills extended her civil state of emergency proclamation for another month on Wednesday, giving her more time to access federal funding and use certain powers to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The first extension, slated to end on Friday, May 15, gave Mills the ability to suspend the enforcement of laws, establish emergency reserves of certain products and allows the state to access federal funding to mitigate the outbreak. The order now extends until June 11.

Maine businesses are expecting losses of just over 50 percent on average this year, while 16 percent think it is extremely unlikely they will open this summer, according to a survey from the Maine Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives released on Wednesday.

Vaccinations for low-income children dropped sharply in the months of March and April in Maine, a possible fallout from people delaying routine health care during the coronavirus pandemic. The state of Maine is asking health care providers to tell them how their services have been altered by the virus and asking them to reassure parents that vaccines can be delivered safely.

—L.L. Bean became the latest retailer to partially reopen its stores Wednesday after it had closed all of them on March 16 to help curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus. The iconic Maine outdoors goods company has opened its Bike, Boat & Ski and Hunting & Fishing stores in downtown Freeport, it told customers in an email Wednesday.

—Over the past two months, there’s been plenty of news to worry about, as our lives have been turned upside-down and the number of COVID-19 cases here in Maine has topped 1,400. But many Mainers have shown their true character during the ongoing pandemic, taking selfless steps to make the lives of others better, even in difficult times. Here are seven of those stories.

Calais Regional Hospital is having trouble finding a bank that will lend it $1.8 million through a federal program that’s meant to help small businesses keep their doors open during the coronavirus pandemic. The hospital is struggling even though a judge recently issued a temporary order allowing it to participate in the loan program.The Calais hospital was initially denied participation in the Paycheck Protection Program because it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Bangor’s Fourth of July celebration will be postponed until September this year, making it the latest tradition upended by the new coronavirus.

—As of Wednesday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 1,388,002 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 83,715 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

—Elsewhere in New England, there have been 5,315 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 3,125 in Connecticut, 462 in Rhode Island, 142 in New Hampshire and 53 in Vermont.

Watch: Maine CDC coronavirus press conference, May 13

 


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