May 18 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine

May 18 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine

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Another Mainer has died as health officials on Monday confirmed another 26 cases of the coronavirus have been detected in the state.

There have now been 1,713 cases across all of Maine’s counties since March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 1,687 on Sunday.

Of those, 1,533 have been confirmed positive, while 180 are likely positive, according to the Maine CDC.

The latest death involved a resident of Cumberland County, bringing the statewide death toll to 71.

[Our COVID-19 tracker contains the most recent information on Maine cases by county]

Here’s a roundup of the latest news about the coronavirus and its impact in Maine.

— Maine’s public health agency is looking into a coronavirus outbreak at an Augusta construction site, with the investigation focusing on 19 people living in multiple states.

— Owners of campgrounds and restaurants in southern Maine have sued Gov. Janet Mills for imposing a 14-day quarantine for out-of-state travelers coming here. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to lift the requirement. Three residents of Maine and New Hampshire also are plaintiffs — they claim the quarantine rule violates their constitutional right to travel freely within the United States.

— The same day a group of southern Maine business owners sued Gov. Janet Mills to lift the 14-day self-quarantine mandate for out-of-state travelers, another wrote to Mills urging her to keep it in place. Saying that it was too soon to relax the required self-quarantine for visitors upon arriving in Maine, a group of 80 businesses sent a letter to Mills saying that they didn’t want to see more Mainers infected and hurt progress already made against the virus.

— York beaches reopened Monday for “movement-only” activities. That includes walking, running, fishing and surfing. Visitors will also have to stay six feet apart from others.

— Dozens protested in Old Orchard Beach on Sunday to pressure town officials to allow people to sit and gather in groups on beaches. Last week, the town manager opened local beaches for “moving activities” only to stop large groups from gathering and slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

— Their small Hermon restaurant was a success — until coronavirus hit.

— Bristol Seafood announced Monday it will temporarily stop production in its Portland Fish Pier plant after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus. The plant will be closed while the company cleans the facility and tests all of its workers.

— Maine reached a milestone in its pandemic response on Monday by opening up COVID-19 testing to a greater range of people. Under the new guidelines, the state lab will now test specimens from anyone who has one or more symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19, in addition to people without symptoms who may be at risk for transmitting COVID-19 to others.

— A Republican lawmaker said he has filed paperwork to begin the process of impeaching Gov. Janet Mills over coronavirus-related restrictions, though party leaders oppose the inquiry as they press for the Legislature to rein in the governor’s emergency power.

— The state of Maine could need at least $3 billion to make up for the revenue it expects to lose from the coronavirus pandemic and to cover the costs of fighting it, according to estimates released by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ office as the state advocates for more federal aid.

— Topsham was on one side of a line that looks arbitrary in the highly connected communities. Restaurants were cleared to open for limited dine-in service there on Monday because the town sits in Sagadahoc County. Brunswick is across the Androscoggin River in Cumberland County, one of four counties that must wait until June 1 to open.

— Now that the coronavirus has been circulating around Maine for more than two months, the ever-growing mass of numbers, anecdotes and other information about the pandemic may be dizzying to anyone without a very strong interest in biology or disease surveillance. Here are some of the most important measures to watch to understand the severity of the coronavirus in Maine.

— A new bill in the U.S. Senate could provide more than $2 billion to state and local governments in Maine to help offset lost revenues due to coronavirus-related economic shutdowns. The proposal, co-sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, includes $500 billion for state and local governments nationally and also frees up $1.25 billion previously allocated as part of a stimulus package that passed at the end of March.

— As many lodging businesses look to reopen June 1, around the time when the state’s busy tourist season typically begins, it might be more difficult for homeless Mainers who have been taking refuge at area motels during the pandemic to find other housing.

— President Donald Trump is taking a malaria drug to lessen symptoms should he get the new coronavirus, he said Monday, even though the drug is unproven for fighting COVID-19.

— As of Monday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 1,506,732 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 90,194 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

— Elsewhere in New England, there have been 5,797 in Massachusetts, 3,449 in Connecticut, 506 in Rhode Island, 172 in New Hampshire and 54 in Vermont.