| Click here for the latest coronavirus news, which the BDN has made free for the public. You can support our critical reporting on the coronavirus by purchasing a digital subscription or donating directly to the newsroom. Today is Saturday. Health officials on Friday confirmed 37 more coronavirus cases and one related death in Maine. There have now been 2,226 cases across all of Maine’s counties since the outbreak began here in March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 2,189 on Thursday. Of those, 1,971 have been confirmed positive, while 255 are likely positive, according to the Maine CDC. [Our COVID-19 tracker contains the most recent information on Maine cases by county] The latest Mainer to die was a woman in her 80s from Cumberland County, bringing the statewide death toll to 85. So far, 270 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 53 people are currently hospitalized, with 18 in critical care and 12 on ventilators, according to the Maine CDC. A new outbreak was reported on Friday at a Granite Bay Care facility in Saco, where three associated people have tested positive for the virus, according to Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah. Granite Bay provides residential care to people with disabilities in 75 homes statewide and a Brunswick facility had an outbreak earlier this month. Meanwhile, 1,458 people have fully recovered from the virus, meaning there are 683 active and likely cases in the state, according to the Maine CDC. That’s down from 703 on Thursday. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine. —“Subtle differences have emerged between Maine Democrats on coronavirus-related business restrictions, with lawmakers representing outlying areas in counties hit hardest by the virus breaking with Gov. Janet Mills and asking for greater transparency around her decisions. The concerns are examples of the divide between communities known to have been hit hard by the virus and those that think they have not.” — Jessica Piper, BDN —“After newly reported outbreaks have increased the disproportionate share of black and immigrant Mainers who have been infected with the coronavirus, a coalition of advocacy groups and lawmakers have been pushing the state for a more targeted response.” — Nick Schroeder, BDN —“Maine workers report they are still waiting for unemployment benefits. Many have been without income since mid-March as the system has been bogged down by overwhelmed call centers, difficulties in implementing new federal programs and, most recently, fraudulent attacks that could cost the state millions of dollars and will cause further delays.” — Jessica Piper, BDN —“The Maine State Golf Association will begin holding its weekly tournaments next week with a women’s event at the Bangor Municipal Golf Course kicking things off on Tuesday. The development comes after Gov. Janet Mills announced on Wednesday that she was relaxing a number of restrictions on golf courses prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.” — Larry Mahoney, BDN — “Maine businesses can deny entry or service to people not wearing face coverings, but that does not apply to people who have conditions exempting them from doing so and no proof is required, according to a new executive order released by Gov. Janet Mills on Friday.” — Lori Valigra, BDN —“A federal judge on Friday upheld Gov. Janet Mills’ 14-day quarantine for people coming into Maine despite the U.S. Department of Justice’s argument that the order is unconstitutional because it discriminates against out-of-staters who want to use the state’s campgrounds.” — Judy Harrison, BDN — “Maine lawmakers are pushing for more involvement in the state’s coronavirus response as top officials consider how to use federal money to backfill expenses while preparing for a projected budget shortfall of half a billion dollars. Maine could lose up to $525 million in revenue by mid-2021 in the coronavirus-related economic slowdown, Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa told the committee. The projection is staggering but not as high as projections made by Moody’s Analytics finding Maine could lose up to $1.2 billion in the same timeframe.” — Caitlin Andrews, BDN —As of Saturday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 1,747,087 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 102,836 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. —Elsewhere in New England, there have been 6,718 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts, 3,868 in Connecticut, 693 in Rhode Island, 238 in New Hampshire and 55 in Vermont. Watch: Why Maine is tracking number of tests instead of people tested
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