Another 799 cases of coronavirus and five deaths were reported across Maine on Thursday.
Though Thursday’s update represents a single-day spike in new cases, the state in recent weeks has seen an overall downward trend in the seven-day average of new daily cases, reaching about 393 on Thursday compared to 556 a week ago and 588 two weeks ago.
That trend has yet to be reflected in the number of hospitalizations, which have remained mostly flat in recent days. 167 people with coronavirus were in Maine’s hospitals as of Thursday.
Health officials continue to laud Maine’s vaccination numbers, with 66% of all Mainers now fully vaccinated. That’s compared to the nationwide rate of roughly 56%, reported by the U.S. CDC’s tracker.
Among Mainers who are eligible for a vaccine, which includes everyone 12 years old and up, that rate is about 75%.
As the deadline approaches for healthcare workers to get vaccinated, 91.6% of all hospital staff are vaccinated according to the Maine CDC’s update for the month of September. 88% of staff at assisted housing facilities are vaccinated, as are 85.8% of workers in Maine’s nursing homes.
