April 2 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine

April 2 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine

Click here for the latest coronavirus news, which the BDN has made free for the public. You can support this mission by purchasing a digital subscription.

Here is a roundup of today’s COVID-19 related news in Maine and New England, as of 6:30 p.m. Read all of our coronavirus coverage here.

— Another 32 cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Maine, bringing the total positive cases to 376.

— A total of eight people have died from the coronavirus in Maine, including a veteran at a veterans administration facility in Augusta who died from COVID-19 complications Thursday.

— Thirteen counties have confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. Cumberland County has been hit the hardest with 192 cases, while York County has 65.

— Sixty-eight individuals were hospitalized in Maine with COVID-19, while 94 have recovered.

— Here’s what else we know about the Mainers who have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.

— We’re tracking the number of coronavirus cases in the state. Check out the latest here.

— We talked with Susan Collins about coronavirus, Trump and what Congress might do next. See her answers to our questions here.

— Penobscot Community Health Care, which has primary care, medical specialty and walk-in centers at locations across Waldo, Penobscot and Somerset counties, has furloughed 75 workers as it puts off appointments during the coronavirus outbreak.

— With Maine’s stay at home order now in effect, there are many things you cannot do, such as have friends over, but there are some “essential activities” you can continue to do. Namely, outdoor activities including fishing and hiking are allowed.

— The Trump administration is formalizing new guidelines to recommend that many Americans wear face coverings when leaving home in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

— More cruise ships have canceled visits scheduled for Maine next month.

— Maine’s first temporary medical site to treat patients who may have the new coronavirus may be built within the next week and a half.

— More Mainers filed for unemployment last week than in the record-setting previous week as the new coronavirus outbreak places the U.S. economy under immense stress.

— The Democratic National Committee is delaying its presidential nominating convention until the week of Aug. 17.

—To deal with self-isolation, a Maine photographer is turning her camera on herself.

— The Maine Basketball Hall of Fame is among the most recent victims of the coronavirus pandemic as it postpones its 2020 inductions until next year.

— Cat and dog owners may want to take extra precautions during the coronavirus outbreak amid new reports linking infected pets to their humans.

— Maine is expanding leave options for state employees in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak as mandated under a federal law that passed in mid-March.

— What questions are on your mind about COVID-19? We’ll do our best to answer.

— The Maine CDC set up a coronavirus hotline. The hotline is available by calling 211 or 866-811-5695. It can also be reached by texting your zip code to 207-898-211 or emailing info@211maine.org.

— Throughout the rest of New England, Massachusetts has 8,966 confirmed cases and 154 deaths, Connecticut has 3,824 cases and 112 deaths, Rhode Island has 657 cases and 12 deaths, Vermont has 338 confirmed cases and 17 deaths, and New Hampshire has 479 cases and five deaths.

— Nationwide, there are 238,820 cases and 5,758 deaths from the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.