Coronavirus Update: Aroostook County, Maine & New Brunswick

AROOSTOOK COUNTY & MAINE UPDATE: Tuesday's report from the Maine Center for Disease Control shows 133 new coronavirus cases and 17 additional deaths, including one death in Aroostook County. Because it takes time to confirm whether a death is related to COVID-19, not all of those deaths likely occurred in the past 24 hours. So far, more than 156,000 Maine residents have been fully vaccinated against the new coronavirus. Another 275,000 have received their first dose of the vaccine.

Maine health care provider InterMed says it is working with the state after nearly 700 school staff members signed up for a vaccine clinic despite being ineligible. NewsCenter Maine reports the mix up stemmed from a link to an online sign-up page for a one-day vaccine clinic meant for teachers 60 and older. Only a handful of the people who signed up were eligible, according to InterMed. Last week, Gov. Janet Mills amended the age-based vaccination plan to prioritize teachers and child care providers through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Currently ,providers in the state include Walmart, Sam’s Club, Walgreens, and Hannaford. The Maine Education Department is reminding teachers under the age of 60 to only register with those participating pharmacies and is urging patience until they can get dedicated sites up and running.

NEW BRUNSWICK UPDATE: New Brunswick Public Health reported five new cases of COVID on Monday. The number of active cases in the province is 36. Three people are hospitalized. Clinics are scheduled to take place in the province this week to vaccinate more than 10,000 people, including residents and staff at 56 licensed long-term care facilities. Clinics are also being held in First Nations communities this week and next week to offer the first dose of vaccine to community members aged 16 and older.