According to the Maine CDC's Thursday update, the cumulative number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Maine is now at 47,832 an increase of 241 since Wednesday. 37,042 of those cases are confirmed while 10,790 are deemed probable.

There were 2 new deaths reported for individuals with COVID-19 raising the total number of deaths to 727. 1,618 patients have had to be hospitalized at some point. 76 are currently hospitalized with 23 in intensive care and 6 on a ventilator.

As of data from yesterday, March 17th, 545,102 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Mainers, with 341,842 having had one dose and 203,260 having had both doses. 25.43% of the population have received the first dose and 15.12% have received both.

Governor Mills once again extended the state of civil emergency another 30 days. WABI reports that Maine law states that civil states of emergency can only be issued for 30-day increments. This is the 13th state of civil emergency issued in a row which means Maine will be under a state of emergency for over a year.

National attention is being given to Florida after statistics indicate that despite Florida being fully open since September of 2020 and never having a mask mandate, they aren't faring much worse than California even though they have had very strict lockdown rules. And, as CNN reports, they are ranked significantly better than New York. CNN also reports that California's unemployment rate is at 9% where Florida is only 4.8%. Critics state that it's difficult to compare states because of things like weather and population density and that their numbers could have been even better had the state been more strict. Others supporting Florida's model are hoping that this will inspire other states to follow suit and reopen sooner rather than later.

If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, including a runny nose, sore throat, dry cough, fever, and in severe cases, difficulty breathing, the Maine CDC says you should call your doctor before going in so that they can prepare for your arrival. The Maine CDC continues to update with new information daily. Keep checking on our mobile app or website to get the latest.

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LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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