The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported another 506 cases of coronavirus and eight deaths on Friday.
It comes as the state continues working through a backlog of more than 2,000 positive test results.
Friday’s update brought the state’s 7-day average of new daily cases to 335. That’s up from 294 a week ago and 267 two weeks ago
Hospitalizations and cases continue on an upward trend in Maine as the Delta variant of the virus remains a major concern for health officials.
192 people are in Maine hospitals with COVID-19. The number of people in ICUs with the virus increased by ten compared to a week ago, reaching 72 on Friday. That number was 71 two weeks ago.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a sweeping vaccine mandate for millions of Americans. One component mandates that companies with 100 or more employees should require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing.
That will apply to about one in three workers in Maine. All told, about 170,000 Maine workers, or a third of the workforce, are employed by companies in that category.
Roughly 72% of eligible Mainers are fully vaccinated.
Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah, along with other state officials, continues to push for more people to get their shots. He says the number of people in Maine’s ICUs with COVID-19 who are not fully vaccinated is typically between 90 and 95 percent depending on the day, sometimes approaching nearly 100 percent.
