Maine reported 36 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and the state continues to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the country.

There were no additional deaths. Since the pandemic began, Maine has recorded 69,192 cases of COVID-19, and 861 deaths. The seven-day average of daily new cases stood at 21, compared to 22.3 a week ago and 72.9 a month ago. At the pandemic’s peak in mid-January, Maine was often topping 600 cases daily.

On the vaccination front, 792,857 Maine residents are fully inoculated against COVID-19, 59 percent of the state’s 1.3 million population. Maine has the nation’s third-highest full-vaccination rate, behind only Vermont and Massachusetts, according to the Bloomberg vaccine tracker. The New England states make up the top six spots on the tracker for full vaccination.

Areas with low vaccination rates, such as Missouri and Nevada, are currently experiencing surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by the delta variant, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, federal CDC director, in a conference call with reporters on Thursday.

“Simply put, in areas of low vaccination coverage, cases and hospitalizations are up,” Walensky said. “Widespread vaccination is what will truly turn the corner of this pandemic.”

The delta variant has accounted for 52 percent of all new cases in the U.S. within the past two weeks, according to federal estimates. Broken down regionally, New England has among the lowest prevalence of delta variant in the nation – about 34 percent of all new cases. In contrast, regions that include Plains and Western states such as Missouri, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, are reporting about 75 to 80 percent of all new cases are from the delta variant.

The Maine CDC has reported four cases of the delta variant through July 2, based on genetic sampling of some cases to detect the variant.

Currently, 30 people in Maine are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 16 in critical care.


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