Maine reported 504 additional cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest daily number in five weeks.

Case counts released on Tuesdays are typically higher than on other days because they include infections reported over the preceding weekends when processing is paused. But the latest number is the highest daily count since June 7, when the state reported 557 new cases. Since then, case counts reported on Tuesdays had hovered between 460 and 470.

The state’s seven-day average of new cases rose to 253 per day after Tuesday’s update, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Maine increased slightly Tuesday to 120, including 18 in critical care and three on ventilators. The overall number increased from 119 on Monday.

The state also reported one additional COVID-related death.

New, more-contagious omicron subvariants that have driven up cases and hospitalizations around the world are now spreading in Maine and likely causing the majority of new infections here.

While the latest strains of the virus are less likely to cause severe symptoms than earlier versions of the disease, health officials say older people with underlying conditions, as well as younger, unvaccinated people, are still showing up in hospitals and needing care. Health experts continue to urge people to get vaccinations and booster shots if they are eligible.

Since the pandemic began, Maine has recorded 272,100 cases and 2,462 deaths, the state reported Sunday.


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