An IT problem at the Maine CDC means new case numbers are approximate for Sunday.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported roughly 189 new cases of COVID-19, and no additional deaths, as a technological issue forced the public health agency to distribute incomplete statistics for its daily update. Of the state’s cumulative 36,787 coronavirus cases,29,913 have been confirmed by testing and 6,874 are considered probable cases of COVID-19. Five hundred forty-four people have died with COVID-19 since the pandemic began in Maine, and 189 patients are now in hospitals with the disease. As of Sunday, Maine had given 86,605 people the first dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, with an additional 22,657 having received a second dose, for a total of 109,262 cumulative vaccinations. Maine’s senators were scheduled to discuss details of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill with the Biden administration this weekend, even as Republican opposition to the package has ramped up. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King are members of a bipartisan (or perhaps tri-, since King is an independent) “Group of 16” that aims to build consensus around the next stage of pandemic relief. With some senior Republican senators saying they’re likely not on board, the Biden administration is facing a choice of whether to accept a scaled-down, bipartisan legislation or try to push through a bigger bill with only Democratic votes — in a 50-50 Senate.
