August 28 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine – Bangor Daily News

Another 22 coronavirus cases have been reported in Maine, health officials said Friday as a handful of college campuses where students are returning for the fall semester reported their first positive cases.

There have now been 4,436 cumulative coronavirus cases reported in Maine since the outbreak began here in March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats up from 4,414 on Thursday.

Of those, 3,981 have been confirmed positive, while 455 were classified as probable cases, the Maine CDC reports.

On Friday, Bates College in Lewiston reported that a student had tested positive for the coronavirus, while the University of New England said a commuter student and employee at its Portland campus also tested positive.

In addition, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine at Farmington tested positive for COVID-19, making the campus the fourth one within the University of Maine System to have a positive test since students began moving back to campuses for the fall semester.

There are nine active cases across the system, with six at the flagship campus in Orono, one in Farmington, one at the University of Southern Maine, and one at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland. One University of Maine at Fort Kent student tested positive earlier this week, but has since been released from isolation.

The adjunct faculty member in Farmington was tested after returning to Maine from out of state through a primary care provider.

No new deaths were reported Friday, leaving the statewide death toll at 132. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.

So far, 417 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 10 people are currently hospitalized, with six in critical care and one on a ventilator.

Meanwhile, 40 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 3,887. That means there are 417 active and probable cases in the state, which is down from 435 on Thursday.

Heres the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.

A coronavirus outbreak at the York County Jail that has been linked with an Aug. 7 wedding in the Millinocket area has grown to 54 cases, the county sheriff said Friday. Matthew Stone, BDN

As part of its comprehensive efforts to provide for a return to high school sports competition this season, the Maine Principals Association has recommended numerous new guidelines to help ensure the safety of the athletes, coaches, game personnel, officials and spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic. BDN Sports

Maine is still giving schools in every county the green light to reopen in person, but that green light comes with a caveat in Penobscot and York counties due to recent outbreaks and increasing case numbers. Matthew Stone, BDN

The state has reinstated the eating and lodging license of the Katahdin-region inn that hosted an Aug. 7 wedding reception now connected to at least 123 cases of COVID-19, after briefly suspending it this week following repeat health violations. On Friday, the owner of the Big Moose Inn, Laurie Cormier, acknowledged some of the violations in her first public comments since the outbreak was announced last week. Charles Eichacker, BDN

A man accused of stealing N95 masks intended for emergency responders while working at Bangor City Hall in late March and early April was indicted Thursday by the Penobscot County grand jury on two counts of theft by unauthorized taking. Judy Harrison, BDN

When the wedding guests had their temperatures taken at the door, their readings were normal. Some people who came from out of state brought proof that they had tested negative for the coronavirus. But the guests didnt wear face coverings or stay socially distanced during the Aug. 7 reception inside an inn on Millinocket Lake, and the venues dining areas were packed with 25 to 30 more people than its license allowed. Thats according to a state health inspectors report that contains new details about what happened during the now-infamous gathering that has been linked to 87 cases of COVID-19 and one death in what has quickly become Maines most sprawling outbreak of the disease. Charles Eichacker, BDN

As of Friday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 5,906,615 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 181,579 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

View post:

August 28 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine - Bangor Daily News