Another Mainer has died as health officials reported 45 more cases of the new coronavirus have been detected in the state.
There have now been 1,648 cases across all of Maine’s counties since March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 1,603 on Friday.
Of those, 1,477 have been confirmed positive, while 171 are likely positive, according to the Maine CDC.
The latest death is a man in his 90s from Cumberland County. The state death toll now stands at 70.
So far, 214 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, while 1,012 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, leaving 566 active and likely cases in the state. That’s up from 541 on Friday.
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.
—Over five hundred people, including former governor Paul LePage, rallied in Augusta on Saturday to protest Gov. Janet Mills’ executive orders that are keeping some businesses closed.
— A Superior Court Justice granted a temporary injunction Friday against Sunday River Brewing Co., the Bethel restaurant owned by Rick and Ron Savage which lost its licenses after defying Gov. Janet Mills’ executive orders. In his ruling, the judge ordered the restaurant to stay closed until its licenses are reinstated. Rick Savage went on the Fox News talk show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Wednesday, where he said that if the judge granted the injunction, he would still remain open. Violating the injunction could lead to criminal charges for Savage.
—The struggle in national chains during the pandemic has led to an opportunity for local farms in Aroostook County that sell beef, pork and other meat products to earn extra income. The increase in buyers is a rare opportunity for local farm producers to gain access to a market dominated by large factory farms.
—Etiquette is always important in communal spaces. For community gardeners in years past, being considerate of others meant keeping your bed neat, treating communal tools with care, chatting with fellow gardeners about their summer plans and resisting the urge to snatch a tomato from your neighbor’s plot. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, though, the rules for being a good garden bed neighbor have changed.
—In an apparent rejection of Gov. Janet Mills’ phased reopening of Maine’s economy, the Calais City Council is voicing support for businesses to open their doors now even if they are not slated to open under the state’s plan. Councilors approved a motion Thursday night stating that the council “does not have a problem if any private-sector business wants to open up in this community and earn a living to support their family.”
—As of Friday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 1,454,504 people 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 87,991 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
—Elsewhere in New England, there have been 5,592 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 3,285 in Connecticut, 489 in Rhode Island, 159 in New Hampshire and 53 in Vermont.
Watch: Janet Mills announces partnership to triple testing capacity
