Two more Maine residents have died from the novel coronavirus bringing the state total to 16, according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The two victims are a man in his 80s from Cumberland County and a woman in her 90s from Waldo County, Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a Thursday briefing.
There are now 560 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to Shah.
Out of those confirmed cases, 105 patients remain hospitalized and 202 have recovered, Shah said.
Piscataquis County is the only county in Maine that has not yet had a confirmed case of coronavirus as of Thursday.
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One facility of concern Shah said is the Tall Pines Retirement and Healthcare Community in Belfast where 10 residents and three staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.
The facility is receiving protective equipment for staff as well as guidance on testing, Shah said.
Maine had put in requests to receive 2,300 new rapid COVID-19 tests developed by Abbott Laboratories which were supposed to arrive earlier in the week. As of Thursday, the Maine CDC said they have only received 115 tests.
Orders for personal protective equipment (PPE) continue with requests for 1,500 gowns and 1,600 gloves going out today, Shah said. The state is looking for other sources of PPE from federal and private sources.
Shah once again thanked residents for social distancing and said the Maine Department of Transportation was reporting that travel was down significantly due to Gov. Janet Mills' stay-at-home order. On Interstate 95 in Kittery, traffic is down 61% compared to a year ago and traffic on I-295 in Portland is down 62%, according to the MaineDOT.
