Today is Friday. Temperatures will be in the high 30s to high 40s from north to south, with a chance for scattered snow and rain showers throughout the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today. Maine passed another grim milestone in the pandemic Thursday with a record-high 349 new coronavirus cases and two deaths reported across the state. There are now 2,601 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, while the death toll now stands at 220. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information. The coronavirus has been circulating in Maine for so long now, and is spreading so intensely this fall, that some nursing homes and other places that saw infectious outbreaks earlier in the pandemic are now facing them again. In this March 16, 2020, file photo, an automobile ferry arrives at North Haven. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty / BDN It’s another sign that little of Maine has been spared from the coronavirus as the infection’s spread has accelerated dramatically. In November alone, Maine recorded nearly half of its total cases and saw its highest number of COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic in March. A masked woman cross an Old Port crosswalk in Portland’s Old Port on Thursday. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN Without further aid, there could be additional layoffs and business closures, prolonging the economic downturn even if a vaccine is widely available by next summer. In this February 2020 file photo, members of the Sumner Memorial High School cheering team celebrate winning the Class C North championship at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. RSU 24, which includes Sumner, has decided not to compete in winter sports if the state moves forward with the season. Credit: Larry Mahoney / BDN The cancellation of winter sports in RSU 24 marks the third straight sports season with no interscholastic sports at Sumner. An owl takes wing from the ground in this eerie trail camera photo. Credit: Courtesy of Cliff Marchant If Bangor Daily News reader Cliff Marchant had sent in just one trail camera photo, he could have started another cool chapter in our “mystery beast” franchise. In this Oct. 13, 2020, file photo, Jenzy Guzman wears a mask to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus while loading his truck while making deliveries to restaurants in the Old Port in Portland. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty / AP Credit: Robert F. Bukaty / AP The start of the Tourism, Hospitality and Retail Recovery Grant Program will be delayed one more day after the system that handles applications for the funding crashed. A Whole Foods associate sanitizes a shopping cart in Portland. As with other large grocery chains, Whole Foods is only granting paid sick time to employees who have received positive tests for the coronavirus, alarming workers who note the scarce availability of tests statewide. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN Credit: Troy Bennett / BDN Workers at Whole Foods Market are striking back against a lawsuit filed by the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce to overturn a voter-approved minimum wage-ordinance that would grant hazard pay to essential workers in the city during the pandemic. Ridge View Community School Assistant Principal Jessica Dyer has been chosen as the 2021 Maine Principals’ Association National Association of Elementary School Principals National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year. Pictured with her during the award announcement on Thursday in Dexter is SAD 46 Superintendent Kevin Jordan, left, and Principal Jerry Kiesman. Credit: Stuart Hedstrom / Piscataquis Observer Jessica Dyer was destined to be an educator, but she never imagined she would have to help a school maneuver through a pandemic. A hiker pauses at the edge of the ocean to take in the view on Nov. 22, at Indian Point-Blagden Preserve in Bar Harbor. Credit: Aislinn Sarnacki / BDN Credit: Aislinn Sarnacki / BDN The preserve is located in a part of Mount Desert Island that escaped the devastating fire of 1947, which burned 17,188 acres on the island and caused $23 million in property damage. Most of the preserve is forested, covered with tall red spruce, white cedar and balsam fir trees. In other Maine news … Coast Guard halts search for missing fishermen, calling distress call a ‘probable hoax’ Bail set at $25,000 for man who shot self after holding girlfriend captive in Bangor Woman drops lawsuit accusing Portland police officers of excessive force Sunday River Brewing attorney says state is selectively targeting it over COVID-19 order criticism Maine woman selling blood plasma to make ends meet as pandemic jobless benefits expire Sullivan man charged with manslaughter in fatal car crash | 