The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday reported 39 new cases of the novel coronavirus, raising case totals as an expanded testing regime takes off in the state. There were no additional deaths.

The report makes for a total 1,687 cases, of which 1,511 have been confirmed by testing and 176 are considered “probable” cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Subtracting numbers of people who have recovered – 1,028 – and died, there were 589 active cases on Sunday. So far there have been 70 coronavirus-related deaths in Maine.

A dramatic increase in Maine’s testing capacity has sped up the reopening process, but Gov. Janet Mills still faces pressure from those who believe pandemic restrictions should be lifted even faster.

With help from Idexx Laboratories, Maine has doubled its testing supplies and plans to expand its capacity to triple what it was before the partnership with the Westbrook-based animal testing company.

Still, hundreds of protesters gathered in Augusta on Saturday to demand an end to the measures that have slowed the outbreak in Maine. The demonstrators included former Gov. Paul LePage and restaurant owner Rick Savage, who defied an order to close his Bethel brewpub to dine-in customers.

Meanwhile, the reopening that Mills has authorized is going forward despite missing benchmarks established by public health experts, a Portland Press Herald analysis indicates. Those benchmarks include a downward trend in new cases, minimum levels of daily tests, and a program to routinely test high-risk workers such as health care providers, supermarket clerks, ambulance crews and factory employees.

The virus is still spreading in long-term care facilities, which have seen far higher rates of infection than the general public. In a series of Facebook posts last week, Clover Healthcare in Auburn announced that three staff members and a resident have tested positive for COVID-19.

The entire Clover community will be tested, the posts said, and officials will host a conference call at 2 p.m. Monday to update residents’ family members.

County by county on Sunday, there were 131 coronavirus cases in Androscoggin, seven in Aroostook, 837 in Cumberland, 33 in Franklin, 11 in Hancock, 121 in Kennebec, 20 in Knox, 17 each in Lincoln and Oxford, 93 in Penobscot, one in Piscataquis, 27 in Sagadahoc, 20 in Somerset, 50 in Waldo, two in Washington and 295 in York.

By age, 3.4 percent of patients were under 20, 12 percent were in their 20s, 12.6 percent were in their 30s, 15.3 percent were in their 40s, 19.2 percent were in their 50s, 15.5 percent were in their 60s, 11.1 percent were in their 70s and 10.8 percent were 80 or over.

Women still accounted for more of the cases than men: 52.5 percent.

The Maine CDC occasionally identifies patients by race or ethnicity, but hadn’t updated those figures on Sunday, according to a timestamp on its website.

Maine’s hospital capacity was holding steady. On Sunday, there were 37 people in hospitals with coronavirus, of whom 16 were in critical care and 11 were on ventilators. There were 173 intensive care unit beds available of a total 359, and 257 ventilators available of a total 311. Maine also had 426 alternative ventilators approved for medical use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Maine CDC posts numbers of negative tests once a week, giving some context to the daily rises in positive cases. At last count, on May 13, 33,035 people had tested negative for COVID-19.

Around the world on Sunday evening, there were over 4.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 314,000 deaths. The United States had nearly 1.5 million cases and more than 89,000 deaths.

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