Another 24 cases of the new coronavirus have been detected in Maine, health officials said Monday.
There have now been 2,349 cases across all of Maine’s counties since the outbreak began here in March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
No new deaths were reported Monday, leaving the statewide death toll at 89.
Here’s a roundup of the latest news about the coronavirus and its impact in Maine.
— “President Donald Trump will visit a medical swab manufacturer in Guilford on Friday despite pushback from Gov. Janet Mills, who told the president his trip could create unrest and later said he is ‘failing to assert leadership’ as protests rage across the U.S.” — Michael Shepherd, BDN
— “Wearing a tiger-print facemask, Maisie Colby wiped down four picnic tables staggered six feet apart from one another on a stretch of cobblestones outside Portland Mash Tun in the city’s Old Port. The bistro would open its doors in half an hour and the stretch of Wharf Street, an almost riotously busy throughway in usual times, was barren. Colby was the only member of the waitstaff working Monday’s dinner service, the first of any in Portland in more than 10 weeks.” — Nick Schroeder, BDN
— “Several large hotel chains asked Gov. Janet Mills in a letter Monday to eliminate Maine’s 14-day quarantine requirement for out-of-state visitors, saying it is causing extreme harm to the industry.” — Lori Valigra, BDN
— “Campground and restaurant owners in southern Maine will appeal a Maine federal’s judge’s ruling that Gov. Janet Mills’ 14-quarantine for out-of-state visitors is constitutional to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.” — Judy Harrison, BDN
— “The Fryeburg Fair has become the latest attraction to be canceled amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The agricultural fair’s board of trustees announced Monday that the fair, originally scheduled for Oct. 4 to 11, won’t return until 2021. It is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 3 to 10 next year.” — Christopher Burns, BDN
— “The coronavirus was not the first challenge to the Jackman region’s ability to keep offering around-the-clock medical care, but for a moment, it looked like it might be the last. Jackman Community Health Center announced in April that it would stop providing medical care outside of normal business hours because of “unprecedented” challenges from the pandemic and “fragile” conditions that had preceded it, all of which had made it harder to staff the clinic, which serves a small population spread out over an area larger than Rhode Island. … But northern Somerset County officials and a group of organizations avoided the cuts by fast-tracking the rollout of a program that was being developed before the coronavirus.” — Charles Eichacker, BDN
— “This summer is a time for Maine residents to explore their own state, embrace the outdoors and support local businesses. That’s the message of Adventure Local Maine, a collaborative campaign recently launched by Maine Outdoor Brands, which is a nonprofit organization that promotes and supports the state’s outdoor recreation economy. … Throughout June, Adventure Local Maine will give away outdoor gear and experience packages from participating outdoor brands. All you have to do is sign up for their email newsletter through the website.” — Aislinn Sarnacki, BDN
— “As more beaches, churches, mosques, schools and businesses reopened worldwide, civil unrest in the United States over repeated racial injustice is raising fears of new coronavirus outbreaks in a country that has more infections and deaths than anywhere else in the world. And it’s not just in the U.S. — London hosted a large anti-racism protest Sunday that certainly violated government social distancing rules.” — Brian Melley, Danica Kirka and Pablo Gorondi, The Associated Press
“A drive-thru testing site for the coronavirus opened in on Monday at the York Hospital’s York Walk-In Care location.” — CBS 13
— As of Monday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 1,804,405people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 105,003 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
