March 27 evening update: Latest on the coronavirus and Maine

March 27 evening update: Latest on the coronavirus and Maine

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Here’s a roundup of today’s COVID-19 news in Maine and New England, as of 6 p.m. Read all of our coronavirus coverage here.

— A Cumberland County man in his 80s died after testing positive for COVID-19, marking the state’s first death in Maine of a coronavirus patient.

— The number of confirmed cases in the state increased to 168, up from 155 on Thursday.

— The coronavirus has hit the hardest in Cumberland County, where 92 cases have been reported, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Other cases have been detected in Androscoggin (6), Franklin (1), Kennebec (6), Knox (2), Lincoln (5), Oxford (8), Penobscot (6), Sagadahoc (4), Waldo (2) and York (33) counties.

— Thirty people have been hospitalized with the virus, and 24 people have recovered from the virus.

— The number of Mainers that tested negative for COVID-19 is at 3,394 as of Thursday.

— We’re tracking the number of coronavirus cases in the state. Check out the latest here.

— A Maine hospital may have enough surgical masks for 2 weeks. It has 2 coronavirus patients.

— Despite the massive unemployment insurance claims announced on Thursday, Maine’s jobless rate in February continued a record run of 50 consecutive months below 4 percent.

— Have you filed for unemployment due to the coronavirus in Maine? We want to hear from you.

— Gov. Janet Mills’ business closure order included gun shops. Here’s how some are staying open.

— Mills also asked travelers coming to Maine from regions hit hard by the new coronavirus to quarantine for two weeks if they visit the state, though there was interfamilial confusion about whether turnpike signs would echo the message.

— Secretary of State Matt Dunlap announced Friday that many credentials issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles — including driver’s licenses — that expire within the current state of emergency period will be extended.

— Portland said the India Street Public Health Center will resume its clinical services and needle exchange program on Monday.

— This is how Maine artists and organizations can entertain you from a distance.

— More Maine golf courses are opening and taking safety precautions against COVID-19 exposure.

— President Donald Trump signed an unprecedented $2.2 trillion economic rescue package into law Friday, after swift and near-unanimous action by Congress this week to support businesses, rush resources to overburdened health care providers and help struggling families during the deepening coronavirus epidemic.

— New Hampshire’s governor announced a series of measures to further tackle the coronavirus outbreak, including requiring nonessential businesses to close and telling residents to stay home.

—The ACLU of Rhode Island is questioning the constitutionality of the governor’s directive allowing state police to stop vehicles with New York license plates to collect information from drivers and passengers in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

— What questions are on your mind about COVID-19? We’ll do our best to answer

— The Maine CDC set up a coronavirus hotline. The hotline is available by calling 211 or 866-811-5695. It can also be reached by texting your zip code to 207-898-211 or emailing [email protected].

— Throughout the rest of New England, Massachusetts has 3,240 confirmed cases and 35 deaths, Connecticut has 1,291 cases and 27 deaths, Vermont has 184 confirmed cases and 10 deaths, New Hampshire has 158 cases and one death, and Rhode Island has 165 cases.

— Nationwide, there are 99,706 cases and 1,554 deaths from the coronavirus, according to The New York Times.