The Maine CDC is reporting 120 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, which is the state's highest single-day count in the last two months and up from numbers that have been closer to the 60s in recent days.
The weekly average of new daily cases has risen from a recent low of 14 in mid-July to 69 now.
The uptick comes as state health officials have recently adopted federal guidance that people wear face masks when using indoor public spaces in some areas considered to have high COVID-19 transmission. Waldo County fell into that category as of late Wednesday.
State officials also announced this week a new initiative to boost vaccination rates in Maine schools, which will include setting up free vaccine clinics, educating school staff and families, and publicly posting school vaccination rates.
The state's vaccination rate as reported by the Maine CDC remains just over 60% of the state's total population — with a high rate of 71% in Cumberland County and low rate of 47% in Somerset County.
No new COVID-19 deaths were reported Thursday.
