The latest report from the Maine Center from Disease Control brings total cases to 2,524 since the virus reached Maine.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday reported 42 cases of the novel coronavirus and no new deaths, raising case numbers slightly as the state continues to reopen.
The newest numbers bring Maine’s total cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, to 2,524. Of that cumulative number,2,253 cases have been confirmed by testing and another 271 are considered “probable” cases.
Subtracting numbers of people who have recovered —1,845 — and died, there were 581 active cases on Saturday. Deaths remain level, at 98.
Maine’s leaders are cautiously hopeful about coronavirus statistics as the state continues to reopen for business. The state’s seven-day average of daily new cases declined this week, from 52.6 on May 26 to 36.6 on Friday, and active cases fell from 612 on Thursday to 587 on Friday.
Still, Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, said Thursday that Maine still has “a ways to go” before reaching a desired 2 percent positive rate for coronavirus tests – a benchmark achieved in South Korea, which built one of the world’s most effective pandemic responses. The rate of tests positive for COVID-19, compared to the total that includes negative and inconclusive results, has fallen to just under 5 percent in Maine after wavering between 5 and 6 percent in recent months.
