A DAILY DIGEST OF MAINE NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2021 — ISSUE #63
EDITOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the Daily Monitor, an evening email newsletter that recaps the most relevant news and information from our editorial team and from our media partners around the state. The Daily Monitor is a product of The Maine Monitor and the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting.

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CORONAVIRUS IN MAINE
27,090 TOTAL CASES (An increase of 525 from Tuesday)
372 DEATHS (An increase of 3 from Tuesday)
525 NEW DAILY CASES (A decrease of 72 from Tuesday)
15,111 TOTAL ACTIVE CASES (An increase of 497 from Tuesday)
191 CURRENTLY IN HOSPITAL (Flat from Tuesday)
11,607 RECOVERIES (An increase of 25 from Tuesday)
38,065 MAINERS VACCINATED (An increase of 2,489 from Tuesday)
TOP STORIES
Members of the Maine Delegation were prepared for a long, pivotal day on Capitol Hill but perhaps not for what is currently unfolding in the nation’s capital.

Pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol building shortly after the joint session to certify the Electoral College votes convened, suspending the session. Dozens of people breached security perimeters at the Capitol and lawmakers inside the House chamber were told to put on gas masks as tear gas was fired in the Rotunda.

Steve Abbott, Sen. Susan Collins' chief of staff, tells NEWS CENTER Maine he has been in contact with Collins and their staff. Abbott, who is currently in Maine, said they all are safe in Washington. 
Another three Mainers have died as health officials on Wednesday reported 525 more coronavirus cases across the state.

Wednesday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 27,090, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 26,565 on Tuesday.

Of those, 22,794 have been confirmed positive, while 4,296 were classified as “probable cases,” the Maine CDC reported.
The vast majority of Maine’s healthcare workers are accepting early coronavirus vaccines as their employers pursue an opt-in approach that seems to be working better in hospitals than in long-term care facilities for now, according to early reports.

Maine has been one of the leading states in vaccinating residents since the December rollout began, with 2.5 percent of people here getting initial doses by Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg News tracker. Only three states have vaccinated a larger share of residents so far.

Vaccine acceptance has been increasing steadily across the country, according to a mid-December report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, with 70 percent of Americans saying they would get vaccinated. The biggest reasons for hesitancy included concern about side effects, mistrust of the federal process and the newness of the vaccine. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been deemed safe and effective by the federal government.