This message is a brief daily update developed by Cumberland County Government on the situational status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cumberland County and Maine. The materials provided here are collected from state resources and media, and notes taken by County staff - they are by no means a complete accounting of the subject matter at hand. For more details visit the state's CDC website, or your local news resource.

Daily Statistics
State Updates
News Items

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Daily Statistics

Good afternoon - the state added 29 cases of COVID-19 against 15 recoveries, increasing the active case count to 582 - an active case high that we haven't seen since early June, and all indications are that the trend is going to continue. If you look at the active case chart below (top, right) you can see the active case count is climbing back toward the range of our peak in late spring. There was another death, increasing the total number of people in Maine who have died from COVID-19 to 140.

There are 17 people in the hospital statewide with COVID-19 - a number that the state hasn't seen since July. 

Cumberland County added 2 cases against six recoveries, decreasing our active case count to 195. While this is a good day (all things considered) in our county and pretty much in line with how things have gone here since mid-summer, the active case count in Cumberland County has been gradually arcing upward since late in August - a pattern that we haven't really seen here since the active cases started dropping in May.

We've seen active case spikes here and there - usually with new outbreaks - but they only last for a couple of days before drifting downward again. Now it looks like we're very slowly but steadily climbing back up. The number of new cases has been stable, between 0-10 per day for a few months. In theory, if our case counts stay low-stable long enough then recoveries should be keeping pace as people who were diagnosed weeks ago move into recovery. But as case counts have spiked all around us, our own chart appears to be creeping back upward, too. A reminder to be especially vigilant, considering the counties to our west and south are both seriously flaring.

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Updates from the State

• Governor Mills announced today that her Administration will launch a second phase of the Maine Economic Recovery Grant Program beginning Wednesday, September 23, 2020. Phase 2 will make available approximately $95 million in remaining funds from Phase 1 and expand access to the program by increasing the number of eligible businesses and non-profits. Under Phase 2, businesses and non-profits that employ up to 250 people will be eligible for grant rewards. Previously, small businesses and non-profits with up to 50 people were eligible. Additionally, licensed childcare and behavioral health organizations will be eligible in this round. The Department of Economic and Community Development estimates that nearly 3,000 more businesses and non-profit organizations will be eligible for grants as a result of the program’s expansion.
  Additionally, the Governor announced that up to $5 million of the $95 million will be dedicated to support the viability of businesses less than a year old, which were not previously eligible. The Maine Technology Institute (MTI), which offers grants, loans, equity investments, and services to support Maine’s innovation economy, will lead the application review and financial disbursement of awards in their seven sectors. For additional information about the program, please visit the Department of Economic and Community’s website.

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News Items

• The Press Herald has published the list of 14 Maine businesses cited for ignoring COVID-19 rules.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly introduced — and then today quietly withdrew — guidance on its website acknowledging that the coronavirus is transmitted mainly through the air. The rapid reversal is another in a string of confusing missteps from the agency regarding official guidance that it posts on its website. 
• Despite slow, steady progress after an abysmal July, daily new cases have once again soared above 40,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The US is on the cusp of 200,000 Covid-19 deaths.