Another 76 cases of the new coronavirus have been detected in the state as Maine saw the largest one-day increase in new cases.
There have now been 1,330 confirmed and likely coronavirus cases across all of Maine’s counties, according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah. That’s up from 1,254 on Wednesday.
Of those, 1,231 have been confirmed positive, while 99 are likely positive, according to the Maine CDC.
No new deaths were reported Thursday, leaving the statewide death toll at 62.
So far, 192 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 39 people are currently hospitalized, with 16 in critical care and 11 on ventilators, according to the Maine CDC.
Meanwhile, another 787 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, meaning there are 481 active and likely cases in the state. That’s up from 426 on Wednesday.
—The Bangor Daily News held a Tuesday session on Zoom with officials from the Maine Tourism Association that was attended by nearly 100 people who had questions on these restrictions and how they will lift under the state’s gradual reopening plan. Here are some answers.
—How has the coronavirus changed your dining habits? We want to talk to you about how the pandemic has changed your dining habits to inform our reporting on Maine’s hospitality industry. Fill out the questionnaire here to help us.
—The Orrington church that sued Gov. Janet Mills over restrictions on in-person services is now expected to hold Sunday services outdoors after a federal judge indicated she would rule against the congregation, Pastor Ken Graves told his congregation Thursday. The church filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor. It alleges that Mills’ order violates the freedom of religion and assembly clauses of the First Amendment and other laws designed to protect houses of worship. It seeks a temporary restraining order that would allow Calvary Chapel in-person services beginning Sunday and a permanent injunction to allow all congregations to worship as they did before the shutdown orders were imposed.
—Some senators, including Maine’s Angus King, now say they’d like lawmakers to be tested for the coronavirus, just days after congressional leaders declined an offer of 1,000 tests from the administration of President Donald Trump.
— As of early Thursday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 1,252,911 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 75,447 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
— Elsewhere in New England, there have been 4,552 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 2,797 in Connecticut, 388 in Rhode Island, 111 in New Hampshire and 53 in Vermont.
Watch: Gov. Janet Mills, Maine CDC coronavirus press conference, May 7