Five More Mainers Die From COVID-19, CDC Reports 551 New Cases on Friday

The Maine Center for Disease Control on Friday reported five more COVID-19 deaths with 551 new coronavirus cases. Aroostook County had 25 new infections.

So far this month, the CDC has reported 69 deaths in the state attributed to the disease. Currently, 167 people are being treated for COVID-19 in the hospital, with 57 patients in intensive care and 29 on ventilators.

There have been 97,183 known coronavirus cases in Maine since the pandemic began. At the current rate of transmission, the state is expected to reach 100,000 cases within the coming week.

Maine's Vaccination Campaign

Health care workers in Maine administered over 4,700 new doses of vaccine on Thursday, with over half of those being booster shots.  According to the state's vaccination dashboard, just over 75% of eligible Mainers age 12 and older have been fully vaccinated. The rate varies considerably from county to county, with Cumberland County at the top with nearly 87% of eligible residents fully vaccinated and Somerset County at the bottom with 62%.

New Brunswick COVID-19 Update

New Brunswick Public Health on Thursday reported 133 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths. The province has recorded 82 deaths since the pandemic began. Currently, 63 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 19 patients in intensive care. Edmundston Regional Hospital is treating eight COVID patients, four of them are in ICU.

New Brunswick is expanding its rapid-testing program. People living in so-called "circuit breaker" areas who do not have COVID-19 symptoms and have not been identified by Public Health as a close contact of a confirmed case will be able to pick up free rapid-test kits. The kits can be administered at home, and will be available Saturday from 8 to 5 at Perth-Andover Middle School and Grand Falls Town Hall.