The Maine Center for Disease Control has added 547 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, and four more deaths.
That's the second day in a row with more than 500 cases added, and brings Maine's total number of cases to 55,374, with 757 deaths.
The jump comes as Maine halts distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine citing concerns over a rare but severe blood clotting issue under investigation by federal health authorities. The pause could affect vaccine distribution in rural areas, where the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was better suited due to more relaxed storage requirements.
More than 925,000 vaccines have been distributed throughout the state.
Gov. Janet Mills has again extended the State of Civil Emergency, for the fourteenth time since the beginning of the pandemic.
Mills said in a statement that the race is on between vaccines and variants of the virus, and that while Maine is making significant progress in fighting the virus, the state needs to keep its "foot on the gas."
The state of emergency will be reevaluated or reissued again on May 13.
The Maine CDC’s next briefing on the pandemic is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday. Maine Public will bring that to you live.