| Click here for the latest coronavirus news, which the BDN has made free for the public. You can support our critical reporting on the coronavirus by purchasing a digital subscription or donating directly to the newsroom. There have now been 1,123 confirmed coronavirus cases across all of Maine’s counties, according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah. The latest deaths were a man in his 40s from Waldo County and a woman in her 80s from Cumberland County, bringing the statewide death toll to 55, Shah said. [Our COVID-19 tracker contains the most recent information on Maine cases by county] So far, 177 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 37 people are currently hospitalized, with 17 in critical care and nine on ventilators, according to the Maine CDC. Meanwhile, another 657 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, meaning there are 411 active cases in the state. That’s unchanged since Thursday. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine. —The University of Maine athletics department is taking a $150,000 hit in lost revenue resulting from the cancellation of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. UMaine athletics director Ken Ralph said the development is significant, but he expects the department to deal with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic reasonably well. —The process of contact tracing — interviewing a sick person to gain an understanding of how they became infected — will be more important than ever in the coming weeks, as the state embarks on a phased reopening process that began Friday. Case counts in the coming months and where they arise will play a direct role in how the reopening continues, public officials said this week. —Rick Savage, the co-owner of Sunday River Brewing Co. in Newry who defied state orders by opening his doors to diners on Friday afternoon, has lost his state health and liquor licenses. The restaurant has made posts on its social media accounts stating that it will be closed until further notice. —In an effort to help support the local economy during the global COVID-19 pandemic, a local church has organized a weekly bulk purchase from a local lobsterman. The program, now entering its fifth week at St. Francis by the Sea, is part of a broader movement among Mainers to support local businesses while measures aimed at preventing the spread of the disease have forced many retailers to shut down for several weeks, with many facing several more weeks of closure. The program also reflects efforts by local food and beverage producers to stay in business by delivering their product directly to customers. — What does a summer without fireworks and baseball even look like? In Maine’s all-too-brief summer season, we measure the passage of time by events. Memorial Day. High school graduation. Concerts and plays. Pride events, both big and small. State fairs, and festivals celebrating lobster, clams, whoopie pies, potato blossoms and strawberries. For 2020, almost all of the above have been canceled, in every city, town and unorganized territory from Lubec to Lewiston, for June and July and even into August, as efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus continue. — As of Friday, the coronavirus has sickened 1,104,161 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 65,068 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. — Elsewhere in New England, there have been 3,716 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 2,339 in Connecticut, 279 in Rhode Island, 72 in New Hampshire and 50 in Vermont. Watch: What is an N95 face mask?
Today is Friday. There have now been 1,095 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus across all of Maine’s counties, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials on Thursday confirmed the death of a woman in her 50s from Cumberland County, bringing the statewide death toll to 53. So far, 170 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, while another 631 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, meaning there are 411 active cases in the state. That’s up from 389 on Wednesday. Some coronavirus-related restrictions are being relaxed starting today. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact in Maine. — The Maine CDC will provide an update on the coronavirus this afternoon. The BDN will livestream the briefing. — Under a new order from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, certain businesses, including barber shops, salons and other personal services, will be permitted to reopen Friday, while keeping in place a ban on gathering of 10 or more people and restrictions on lodgings and other industries into the summer. That will start to ease the economic crunch that has left 108,500 Mainers jobless since March 15 and prompted protests calling on the governor to allow businesses to reopen. — Starting Friday, health care providers can resume routine procedures and appointments that they have had to put on hold as the state has tried to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Many providers say they will not reopen right away, and some, including dentists, say they still aren’t allowed to provide treatment other than emergency care. Now that primary care practices like Martin’s Point Health Care can open up additional services, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jonathan Harvey said they will be able to chip away at the backlog of patients that has grown over the past several weeks. — Golf courses are among the businesses that may open on Friday with numerous safety rules in place. One of the guidelines allows golfers to play only at courses located in the county in which they live. However, someone who lives in one county but is a member at a club in another county may play there. — Maine residents, in line with national trends, mostly supported maintaining current social distancing restrictions moving forward, a new poll found. Ninety-four percent “strongly” or “somewhat” approved of government measures over the next 30 days asking people to stay home, while 88 percent said they supported requiring most businesses to stay closed and 92 percent supported keeping schools closed. — Some Mainers who have seen their previous unemployment claims denied will automatically get benefits through a new federal effort launching Friday, though workers will initially receive the minimum benefit in an effort to expedite the program. Self-employed workers whose state unemployment claims were denied due to insufficient income will automatically get benefits through the federally funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, Maine Department of Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said Thursday. — The Maine CDC is investigating whether the death of a 42-year-old firefighter from Waldo County is connected to the coronavirus. The agency did not give details about the firefighter or the situation on Thursday. But an online fundraiser that was started on Thursday said that the volunteer firefighter, Lt. Harold “Eddie” Moore Jr. of Jackson, died on Tuesday night. Moore’s wife worked as a CNA at The Commons at Tall Pines in Belfast, which has suffered a severe outbreak of the coronavirus. — While the thought of quarantining inside for weeks on end might seem daunting, it’s relatively easy to commit to when you have a home. But for those who are homeless or lack stable housing, the governor’s order to “shelter in place” during this pandemic is nearly impossible. While the focus of the Knox County Homeless Coalition is to find sustainable long-term housing for those struggling with housing insecurity along the midcoast, the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to act more immediately to provide people with a temporary safe place to isolate. Enter the region’s hotels, motels and motor lodges. — The federal government is providing $75.5 million to the Guilford medical products company that is expanding production of the testing swabs that are critically needed to detect the coronavirus. Puritan Medical Products plans to add around 140 new workers to boost production of the swabs at a second location in Pittsfield. Puritan is one of two manufacturers in the world of the nasopharyngeal flocked swabs used to test for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. — As of early Friday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 1,070,032 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 63,019 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. — Elsewhere in New England, there have been 3,562 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 2,257 in Connecticut, 266 in Rhode Island, 72 in New Hampshire and 49 in Vermont.
Today is Thursday. There have now been 1,056 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus spread across all of Maine’s counties, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials confirmed the death of a woman in her 70s from Cumberland County, bringing the statewide death toll to 52. So far, 166 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, while another 615 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, meaning there are 389 active cases in the state. That’s down from 404 on Tuesday. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact in Maine: — The Maine CDC will provide an update on the coronavirus this afternoon. The BDN will livestream the briefing. — Businesses including barber shops, salons and car dealerships can reopen on Friday as part of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ plan to gradually reopen Maine’s economy. The four-phase plan aims to allow businesses to recover from the coronavirus-induced shutdown while preventing a resurgence of the disease. But regulators will not initially verify that the practices are being followed. — Frustrated businesses pressed Maine’s top economic development official Wednesday on how they will be able to restart under a reopening plan that includes 14-day quarantines for out-of-state tourists and runs through the late summer. The tourism industry, whose hotel, restaurant and bar owners have been hit hard by the economic shutdown and stay-at-home order, has been frustrated by the reopening schedule and lack of details. Certain lodging and campgrounds can open June 1 under stage 2 of the plan for Maine residents and those who have met the 14-day quarantine requirement. More lodging opens up July 1 in stage 3 of the governor’s plan, but it also includes quarantines for people entering Maine. — Maine’s 10 most popular state parks are going to remain closed until at least June 1 under Mills’ new executive order that aims to reopen the state’s economy. This year’s TD Beach to Beacon 10K road race in Cape Elizabeth has been canceled due to concerns about the possible spread of the coronavirus, according to race organizers. Other upcoming events that have been canceled include Bangor’s Memorial Day parade, the Maine Lobster Festival and the North Atlantic Blues Festival. — A staffing firm that employs some of the doctors in three rural Maine hospitals — including two that are now in bankruptcy and suing the federal government for stimulus funding — is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy itself as a result of steep revenue shortfalls related to the coronavirus. Just as those hospitals have lost considerable revenue after preparing to handle the pandemic, Envision Healthcare Corp. is struggling to pay off $7 billion in debt after the crisis forced medical systems all across the U.S. to delay lucrative elective services. — There is now an outbreak of the coronavirus among people who visited the Hope House Health and Living Center in Bangor. Twenty-one homeless shelter residents and staff have tested positive for the virus, the shelter said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, eight cases have been detected at the Tyson Foods plant in Portland, marking the first instance of an outbreak in Maine at a food processing facility. — A Guilford company that makes the medical swabs necessary to test for the coronavirus has identified a location in Pittsfield where it would open a second manufacturing facility to help meet the spike in demand for its products. The company, Puritan Medical Products, is now working with a regional organization, Eastern Maine Development Corp., “to identify and hire 140 new production workers in their new manufacturing location,” according to Lee Umphrey, EMDC’s president and CEO. — A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Maine tribe and several others by blocking the U.S. Department of Treasury from distributing federal coronavirus relief funds to a set of for-profit corporations created by tribes in Alaska. However, it’s not clear when the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and other federally recognized tribes will receive a portion of the $8 billion set aside for tribal governments in the $2.2 trillion stimulus package. — Republican President Donald Trump said Wednesday the federal government’s coronavirus social distancing guidelines will be “fading out” when they expire Thursday, counting on states taking charge as they pivot to reopening. The administration says its cautionary guidance issued 45 days ago has been incorporated into recommendations given to the states on how they can begin gradually easing restrictions and reopening their economies. — As of early Thursday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 1,040,488 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 60,999 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. — Elsewhere in New England, there have been 3,405 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 2,168 in Connecticut, 251 in Rhode Island, 60 in New Hampshire and 47 in Vermont.
Today is Wednesday. There have now been 1,040 confirmed coronavirus cases spread across all of Maine’s counties, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. No new deaths were reported Tuesday, leaving the statewide death toll at 51. So far, 163 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, while another 585 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, meaning there are 404 active cases in the state. That’s down from 423 on Monday. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact in Maine. — The Maine CDC will provide an update on the coronavirus later today. The BDN will livestream the briefing. — Certain Maine businesses can reopen on Friday as part of a gradual plan to lift coronavirus-related restrictions, though many hospitality businesses could remain closed deep into the summer, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday. The first stage of the plan continues the governor’s earlier prohibition on gatherings of more than 10 people as well as a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers coming to Maine. It also requires individuals to wear cloth face coverings in settings where it is difficult to maintain social distancing. — Two bankrupt Maine hospitals have warned that they could both have to close their doors by the end of June if they don’t receive funding through a federal loan program meant to help small businesses keep their staff employed through the coronavirus crisis. Both Calais Regional Hospital and Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln have been denied access to the Paycheck Protection Program because its rules disqualify entities that have filed for bankruptcy protection from receiving funds. — As health care systems in coronavirus hot spots are stretched thin, Maine hospitals and the state prepared for a much larger onslaught of coronavirus cases than the one that has materialized so far here. Hospitals added critical care beds and ventilators for a potential uptick in patients infected with the coronavirus. The state mobilized volunteers with medical expertise who could staff hospitals if they became overwhelmed, and it planned for two overflow sites if hospitals ran out of capacity. But Maine seems to have flattened the coronavirus curve enough — reducing numbers of new cases — that hospitals haven’t needed to tap into those resources to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. — Almost seven weeks before the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Maine, emergency medical responders were on the lookout for people who might be carriers of the highly contagious virus. Those who transport sick or injured people are among those at greatest risk of catching the coronavirus because of their close contact with people as they respond to medical emergencies at their homes and care for them in ambulances. The new protocols crews started using in late January give them tools to suss out if a patient might be a carrier of the virus so they can respond accordingly. — The forgivable federal loans aimed at helping businesses stay afloat and pay their employees have unexpectedly caused a conundrum for some owners who are holding off on rehiring workers and others who are considering giving back all or part of the money. At the heart of the problem is the conditions on how and when the money can be spent in a way that the business owners can get the loan forgiven. Many say the U.S. Small Business Administration still hasn’t provided clear guidelines on forgivable uses of the money. — Self-employed workers and independent contractors will be able to apply for federally funded unemployment benefits starting Friday, the Maine Department of Labor announced on Tuesday. — In a fragmented health system — which encompasses dozens of insurers, 50 state regulators and thousands of independent doctor practices — the shift to cost-free telemedicine for patients is going far less smoothly than the speeches and press releases suggest. In some cases, doctors are billing for telephone calls that used to be free. Patients say doctors and insurers are charging them upfront for video appointments and phone calls, not just copays but sometimes the entire cost of the visit, even if it’s covered by insurance. — As of early Wednesday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 1,012,583 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 58,355 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. — Elsewhere in New England, there have been 3,153 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 2,087 in Connecticut, 239 in Rhode Island, 60 in New Hampshire and 47 in Vermont.
Today is Tuesday. There have now been 1,023 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in all of Maine’s counties, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials on Monday confirmed the death of a man in his 70s from Kennebec County, bringing the statewide death toll to 51. So far, 161 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, while another 549 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, meaning there are 423 active cases in the state. That’s down from 433 on Sunday. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact in Maine. — The Maine CDC will provide an update on the coronavirus at 3 p.m. The BDN will livestream the briefing. — Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Monday suggested at Monday’s coronavirus briefing that she may loosen restrictions on businesses when her stay-at-home order expires on April 30. Mills told reporters she was likely to extend parts of a stay-at-home order. She signaled a shift by saying some restrictions might be lifted gradually based on whether workplaces can “conduct business safely” and not whether businesses are considered “essential,” saying she would announce a plan for extending the order on Tuesday. — Maine is now the last state in New England to not release data on coronavirus cases by city and town. Vermont started releasing ranges of cases Monday. The information does not specify which towns may have 5 or fewer cases. New Hampshire takes a similar tactic, but delineates towns that do not have any reported cases. Rhode Island reports the exact number of cases per municipality, as do Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Maine CDC has declined to release similar information, citing privacy concerns. It estimated it could take up to six months to compile that data in response to a Bangor Daily News Freedom of Access Act request last week. — Just four days after Maine confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, Seren Bruce received a different diagnosis that would nevertheless be shaped by the pandemic. On March 16, a doctor at Northern Light Cancer Care in Brewer who had reviewed Bruce’s bloodwork diagnosed her with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer that grows on the white blood cells. Bruce’s diagnosis has come at a particularly fraught time for cancer patients, who often have weakened immune systems as a result of their treatments or cancers, and who may be more likely to become seriously ill from the coronavirus. Now, hospitals have delayed all sorts of non-emergency services to preserve their resources and to prevent the virus from spreading among vulnerable patients, leading to delays in some care for cancer patients. — For more than a month now, visitors, including residents’ family members, have been barred from entering The Commons at Tall Pines in Belfast in hopes that the virus would not take root there. But the virus, stealthy and deadly, found its way in. — Calls placed to the Northern New England Poison Center from people’s homes have increased, according to Karen Simone, a toxicologist who runs the center at Maine Medical Center in Portland, but they do not appear to be a result of President Donald Trump’s suggestion Thursday that ingesting certain household cleaners can keep people from getting the disease. Rather the increase seems to stem in part from more intense home cleaning efforts aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus and the occasional mishaps that result. — Bowdoin College in Brunswick is facing down a loss of more than $8 million from financial aid to assist low-income students with travel and other coronavirus-related costs and room-and-board refunds after the college opted to not have students return after spring break, making it one of the first Maine universities to close its campus in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, Bates College in Lewiston has already taken a financial hit of up to $2 million because of the coronavirus and the college’s president, Clayton Spencer, anticipates worse to come. — The Maine CDC’s headquarters reopened Monday after a coronavirus exposure briefly shuttered the headquarters of the agency responsible for leading the state response to the pandemic. — The eagerly anticipated second round of federal stimulus loans aimed at helping small businesses pay employees during the coronavirus outbreak rolled out on Monday, when the system processing loans almost immediately came to a halt before it began working again sluggishly several hours later. — The billions of dollars in coronavirus relief targeted at small businesses may not prevent many of them from ending up in bankruptcy court. Business filings under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law rose sharply in March, and attorneys who work with struggling companies are seeing signs that more owners are contemplating the possibility of bankruptcy. Companies forced to close or curtail business due to government attempts to stop the virus’ spread have mounting debts and uncertain prospects for returning to normal operations. Even those owners receiving emergency loans and grants aren’t sure that help will be enough. — As of early Tuesday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 988,469 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 56,253 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. — Elsewhere in New England, there have been 3,003 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 2,012 in Connecticut, 233 in Rhode Island, 60 in New Hampshire and 47 in Vermont. — Before her double-lung transplant, Joanne Mellady could barely put on a shirt without losing her breath. Afterward, she barely stopped moving. Mellady, who died of the coronavirus in March, had a bucket list that made her family blush. Mellady, a 67-year-old from New Hampshire, transformed herself from a shy person dependent on oxygen around the clock to a vivacious risk taker willing to try almost anything. Hang gliding, skiing, skateboarding and kayaking were among the thrills she took on.
Today is Monday. There have now been 1,015 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus across all of Maine’s counties, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The statewide death toll rose to 50 over the weekend, with the latest involving three women in their 80s from Androscoggin, Franklin and Waldo counties. More than half of Maine’s coronavirus deaths have involved nursing home residents. So far, 159 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, while another 532 have recovered, meaning there are 433 active cases in the state. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills could soon decide whether to extend or let expire a stay-at-home order. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact in Maine. — The Maine CDC will provide an update on the coronavirus later today. The BDN will livestream the briefing. — No new deaths were reported Sunday, the first day a new death has not been reported in almost two weeks. Last week was the deadliest week in the outbreak so far, with 18 new deaths recorded. — More than a dozen Maine health care industry groups representing hospitals, nursing homes, doctors and others are asking Gov. Janet Mills for civil and criminal immunity during the civil state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The request asks Mills to suspend the laws holding health care providers and their employees responsible for death or injury during the state of emergency related to them providing services, denying care or reallocating resources while following state or facility guidelines around the pandemic. — The state’s bustling craft beer industry is facing one of its first major roadblocks as coronavirus-related restrictions stunt sales and threaten summer tourism. Maine ranked 19th among the 50 states with its 133 craft breweries in 2019. The state ranked sixth in beer consumption with each over-21 adult drinking 10.7 gallons per year on average, the Brewers Association said. But numbers this year likely won’t look so lofty and could hinge on when businesses are allowed to reopen, experts said. — The University of Maine is documenting the community’s coronavirus pandemic experiences with an archive project spearheaded by the Special Collections Department at Raymond H. Fogler Library. The project is calling for social media posts, photographs and personal reflections or anything else that captures day-to-day life during the pandemic. — More than 400,000 Maine residents have already received economic impact payments from the federal government, according to data released jointly by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service on Friday. But citizens who did not file taxes in the past two years and do not receive social security or veterans benefits will need to register with the IRS to receive stimulus checks. — Late last month, University of Southern Maine student Maha Jaber received an email from University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy that listed opportunities for university students and staff to help out during the coronavirus pandemic. She signed up to provide whatever assistance she could before she finished reading the email. Jaber, who lives in Portland, is one of 193 nursing students and faculty members from across the University of Maine System who have volunteered to work in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care settings that need them as those facilities find themselves on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus in Maine. — While most of the world hungers for a vaccine to put an end to the death and economic destruction wrought by the coronavirus, some anti-vaccine groups are joining with anti-lockdown protesters to challenge restrictions aimed at protecting public health. Vaccine critics suffered serious setbacks in the past year, as states strengthened immunization laws in response to measles outbreaks sparked by vaccine refusers. Now, many of these same vaccine critics are joining a fight against stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns intended to stem the spread of the coronavirus. — Catching the coronavirus once may not protect you from getting it again, according to the World Health Organization, a finding that could jeopardize efforts to allow people to return to work after recovering from the virus. The WHO guidance came after some governments suggested that people who have antibodies to the coronavirus could be issued an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate” that would allow them to travel or return to work, based on the assumption that they were safe from reinfection. — As of early Monday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 965,933 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 54,877 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. — Elsewhere in New England, there have been 2,899 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 1,924 in Connecticut, 266 in Rhode Island, 60 in New Hampshire and 46 in Vermont. Watch: Nirav Shah talks about the impact of coronavirus on rural Maine
| 