Maine CDC reports 223 new COVID-19 cases, two additional deaths

Mar. 30—State health officials reported 223 new cases of COVID-19 along with two additional deaths on Tuesday, as vaccination sites throughout the state prepare for a significant increase in deliveries of much-needed doses.

Continuing a recent trend, the number of new cases of COVID-19 remains stubbornly high at a time when many states are experiencing rising rates of infections, hospitalizations and deaths. With the 223 cases reported on Tuesday, Maine's seven-day rolling average stood at 215, up from 200 a week ago and 173 four weeks ago.

To date, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked a total of 50,253 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 since the coronavirus was first detected in Maine last March. Factoring in the two additional deaths reported on Tuesday, there have been at least 738 deaths linked to COVID-19 in Maine.

At the same time, Maine's vaccination campaign is picking up pace thanks to larger shipments of doses from the federal government.

On Monday, it was announced that retail pharmacies participating in a federal program would see nearly a doubling of COVID-19 vaccine doses this week, increasing from roughly 12,000 doses to 23,370. Additionally, pharmacies at Shaw's supermarkets around the state were expected to receive their first shipments this week, joining Hannaford, Walgreens, Walmart and Sam's Clubs in the federal program.

As of Tuesday morning, just over 31 percent of the state's 1.3 million residents — or 417,436 people — had received at least one dose of vaccine while 19.3 percent of the population, or 259,077 people, had received either both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single-shot vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson.

Maine residents age 50 or older as well as teachers, school employees and licensed child care workers of all ages are currently eligible for vaccination. The eligibility window is tentatively slated to open to all Maine residents age 16 and older on April 19, however state officials have bumped up the vaccination schedule repeatedly in recent months in response to growing shipments of vaccine.

Maine expects to receive a record 68,570 doses this week, well above the previous high of 55,060 doses during the week of March 1.

Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, is expected to hold a briefing on the coronavirus situation at 2 p.m..

This story will be updated.