Maine CDC reports 131 new COVID-19 cases, no additional deaths

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 131 new cases of the new coronavirus and no additional deaths on Sunday, an ongoing decline in the number of cases as vaccination programs increase.

Despite weather-related delays in shipping vaccines around the country, Maine health officials say advance planning has prevented a major disruption to vaccination schedules. The state is slated to get up to 14 percent more doses this week and had already given a first dose to nearly 15 percent of the population as of Sunday morning.

Cumulative COVID-19 cases in Maine rose to 43,497 on Sunday. Of these, 34,502 have been confirmed by testing and 8,995 are considered probable cases of COVID-19. Hospital admissions were down to 71 on Sundays.

Six hundred and fifty-eight people have died from COVID-19 since the start of the Maine pandemic. The seven-day mean of new daily cases was 139.9 on Sunday, slightly higher than 138.4 on Saturday, but only a fraction of the peak in January.

On Sunday morning, 199,360 Mainers had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 94,767 had their second. According to statistics from the Maine CDC, 14.83 percent of Maine’s 1.3 million residents have received their first dose.

Last week, Northern Light Health announced that a mass vaccination site at the Portland Expo – also currently scheduled for the age group 70 and older – will open March 2 and operate Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Despite the increasing availability of vaccines, Maine’s rules of admission are causing confusion and frustration among some elderly residents who wonder when it is their turn to have a chance. Some states, such as Massachusetts, have adopted a ‘buddy’ system whereby a spouse who is under the age of eligibility can have a chance in addition to his eligible partner.

Maine is not considering enacting such a rule, health officials say, even though Governor Janet Mills appeared to contradict those guidelines at a briefing last month.

“If a 71-year-old shows up at a clinic to be vaccinated and they bring their 69 and 10-month-old spouses, they are unlikely to reject that spouse because it is efficient and medically appropriate for both of them to get vaccinated” at the time.

Currently, Maine focuses on vaccinating people over 70, health professionals who interact with patients, long-term care residents, and public safety personnel. Not only did public health officials confirm last week that they were not considering a buddy system, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said he would consider sanctions against providers who distribute vaccines to people who do not qualify.

In some cases, that can hinder efforts to distribute leftover vaccines before they go bad. And with fraudsters in some other states falsifying their identities to jump the vaccine line, hospitals in Maine say it’s hard to confirm with certainty that recipients are eligible.

Meanwhile, two employees of Westbrook City Hall have tested positive for COVID-19, the city announced Saturday afternoon. City Hall will be closed until March 1, as the building is undergoing a thorough cleaning and all staff there are being tested, officials said.

By county, as of Sunday, there were 4,695 cases of coronavirus in Androscoggin, 1,257 in Aroostook, 12,228 in Cumberland, 880 in Franklin, 874 in Hancock, 3,548 in Kennebec, 622 in Knox, 566 in Lincoln, 2,157 in Oxford, 3,784 in Penobscot, 244 in Piscataquis, 865 in Sagadahoc, 1230 in Somerset, 574 in Waldo, 704 in Washington and 9266 in York.

At age 15.2 percent of the patients were under 20, while 18.1 percent were in their twenties, 14.4 percent in their 30s, 13.1 percent in their 40s, 15.3 percent in their 50s, 11, 7 percent in their sixties and 6.6 percent. in their seventies and 5.6 percent were 80 years or older.

Of the 71 patients with COVID-19 in hospitals in Maine on Sunday, 24 were in intensive care and seven on ventilator. The state had 114 intensive care unit beds available of 386 total and 251 fans out of 319. There were also 446 alternative fans.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there were 111.2 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 2.46 million deaths worldwide Sunday night. The United States had 28.1 million cases and 498,786 deaths.

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