PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The number of new coronavirus cases has ticked up in Maine in recent weeks, but state health officials say they aren't sounding the alarm about it yet.
The state's daily caseload had dwindled in early summer, with less than 20 new cases reported on some days in June and early July. That trend has reversed in mid-July as the coronavirus counts have ticked up all over the country.
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Nirav Shah told the Portland Press Herald the rate of increase is less in Maine than it is in much of the country.
Maine officials on Friday are reporting just 54 additional cases of COVID-19. This comes after the Maine CDC reported a spike of over a hundred new cases yesterday.
No additional deaths have been reported. That number remains at 891.
Maine's vaccination percentage continues to inch toward 60% of the state's population. It was 59.92% as of Thursday.
Maine Public's Willis Ryder Arnold contributed reporting.