| There are now 827 coronavirus cases spread across 15 of Maine’s counties, according to the Maine CDC. That’s up from 796 on Thursday. Another two Mainers have died, bringing the statewide death toll up to 29. So far, 133 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 55 people are currently in the hospital, with 28 in critical condition and eight on ventilators, Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah said. The Maine CDC reports that 352 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, meaning there are 475 active cases in the state at this time. Piscataquis remains the only county in the state without a confirmed case of the virus. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact in Maine. — Gov. Janet Mills said on Friday that her administration was devising a plan to gradually reopen Maine’s economy, though she reiterated that stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus in Maine was the key to allowing business activities to resume. — A patient of a Brewer rehabilitation facility has tested positive for the coronavirus, but no other cases have been detected there, a state health official said. —Portland city officials reversed an interpretation of an emergency order saying non-essential businesses were prohibited from shipping products and allowing no-contact delivery on Friday after receiving a wave of pushback from business owners. — Maine could lose $200 million by the end of June and up to $1 billion by mid-2021, according to dire projections showing that nearly a quarter of state revenue could be in danger due to the coronavirus. — Maine’s state employees’ union is complaining that too many workers have been classified as emergency responders, preventing them from accessing paid leave under a federal coronavirus response law and causing difficulty for working parents. — Farmers markets in Maine will take on a different feel and tone this summer where they will serve more as food distribution sites rather than spots to socialize. — Experts say that in the past few weeks, the air in Maine has become cleaner, and the atmosphere has become noticeably clearer. These changes have been linked to the nationwide shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more specifically to the significant decrease in emissions from transportation. — Some Maine drivers are joining the fun of virtual auto racing amid hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic. — In the month since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Maine, city councilors and elected officials across Maine have adapted — many are conducting public meetings through video meeting platforms, such as Zoom. — There is a demonstration planned for Monday in front of the Blaine House, protesting the governor’s orders to keep non-essential businesses closed. — Coronavirus concerns will keep Acadia National Park effectively closed to all visitors until June 1, with camping barred until June 15, as park operators extend a shutdown first announced in late March. — The Northern Maine Fair Association announced Friday it has canceled the 2020 fair due to the high level of uncertainty about the next few months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first of Maine’s agricultural fairs to cancel because of the virus. —As of 6:30 a.m. Saturday, the coronavirus has sickened 706,779 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 37,079 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. —Elsewhere in New England, there have been 34,402 cases and 1,404 deaths in Massachusetts; 16,809 cases and 1,036 deaths in Connecticut; 4,177 cases and 118 deaths in Rhode Island; 779 cases and 35 deaths in Vermont; and 1,287 cases and 40 deaths in New Hampshire, according to the New York Times.
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