The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday reported 218 more cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths, a slight dip in the recent surge of case numbers but not enough to move high weekly averages.

Maine’s vaccination effort and a spike in infections, in large part among young people, have both ramped up in recent weeks. The state’s vaccination capabilities recently expanded enough to bring doses to homebound Mainers and to open eligibility to all residents over 16. But meanwhile, on Sunday, 94 of the 218 new cases were in people under 30 – 43 percent of the daily total.

Maine’s cumulative COVID-19 cases rose to 53,960 on Sunday. Of those, 40,916 have been confirmed by testing and 13,044 are considered probable cases of COVID-19. The seven-day average of new daily cases fell slightly to 314 on Sunday, below Saturday’s recent high of 333.8.

Seven hundred fifty people have died with COVID-19 since the pandemic began in Maine.

Many Mainers with medical conditions that leave them homebound are as vulnerable to COVID-19 as long-term care residents who were among the first to be vaccinated. Yet, because of limited supplies and the logistical difficulties of organizing home visits for vaccinations, health care providers are just now reaching the homebound population.

As of Friday, about 82 percent of Mainers 70 and older had received at least one dose. But vaccination rates have slowed among that population as providers grapple with bringing shots to older Mainers who are harder to reach.

Advertisement

Increased supplies have helped free up doses for people who can’t leave home to get them. The arrival of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine also helped that population, since only one visit is needed and the J&J vaccine is stabler on the shelf.

Meanwhile, with vaccination rates expected to soar over the summer, many outdoor fairs and festivals are planning to reopen this year in Maine. The Cumberland Fair, which usually hosts as many as 70,000 people on its 100-acre fairground in September, will open again, “with adjustments to make people feel comfortable,” an organizer said.

Returning events include the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, also in September, and the Fryeburg Fair in October.

The Maine Lobster Festival and Bath Heritage Days are still canceled.

As of Sunday, 511,040 Mainers had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 376,752 had received their final dose. Out of Maine’s population of 1.3 million, 38.02 percent have received their first dose, according to Maine CDC statistics.

County by county as of Sunday, there had been 5,855 coronavirus cases in Androscoggin, 1,473 in Aroostook, 14,688 in Cumberland, 1,046 in Franklin, 1,131 in Hancock, 4,700 in Kennebec, 846 in Knox, 708 in Lincoln, 2,735 in Oxford, 4,859 in Penobscot, 398 in Piscataquis, 1,087 in Sagadahoc, 1,526 in Somerset, 739 in Waldo, 795 in Washington and 11,390 in York.

By age, 16.8 percent of patients were under 20, while 18.4 percent were in their 20s, 14.3 percent were in their 30s, 13.3 percent were in their 40s, 15.2 percent were in their 50s, 11.2 percent were in their 60s, 5.9 percent were in their 70s, and 4.9 percent were 80 or older.

Of the 75 patients with COVID-19 in Maine hospitals on Sunday, 29 were in intensive care and 13 were on ventilators. The state had 85 intensive care unit beds available of a total 372, and 238 ventilators available of 319. There were also 446 alternative ventilators.

Around the world late Sunday afternoon, there were 135.7 million known cases of COVID-19 and 2.93 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States had 31.1 million cases and 562,059 deaths.

Related Headlines


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.