The recent coronavirus surge driven by the delta variant continues here in Maine, with health officials reporting an additional 716 cases and two deaths on Thursday.
Robert Long with the Maine CDC says a man and a woman from Hancock County and Penobscot County are the most recent deaths. One was in their 40s and the other in their 50s.
The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 fell slightly on Thursday, down to 221 from 226 on Wednesday. Of those 221 patients, 83 were in critical care, down from 88 on Wednesday.
It comes amid a week in which the state repeatedly broke its records for Covid-19 hospitalizations, with the majority of those beds filled by unvaccinated patients.
In a sign the most recent surge may have peaked, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said Wednesday that the positivity rate is falling slightly each day. The seven-day positivity rate for molecular tests fell to 4.85 percent on Thursday, down from 6.06 percent a week ago.
