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158,071 Cumulative vaccinations (An increase of 4,090 from Monday)

117,613 First doses administered (An increase of 2,526 from Monday)

40,894 Second doses administered (An increase of 1,564 from Monday)

39,960 Total cases (An increase of 417 from Monday)

618 Deaths (An increase of 23 from Monday)

417 New daily cases (A increase of 198 from Monday)

157 Currently in hospital (A decrease of 7 from Monday)

Another 23 Mainers have died as health officials on Tuesday reported 417 more coronavirus cases across the state.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 5,698. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. That’s up from 5,667 on Monday.

It’s the highest single-day increase the state has seen since Wednesday, when 462 cases were reported. That comes, however, amid a days-long decline in confirmed virus transmission both in Maine and nationally, as evidenced by the steady fall in Maine’s active cases and seven-day averages.

Four Aroostook County residents, four Cumberland County residents, two Kennebec County residents, five Oxford County residents, four Penobscot County residents, one Somerset County resident and three York County residents have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 618. READ MORE

Hancock County Sheriff Scott Kane called his cancellation of an addiction recovery coach program at the jail last year “an emotional reaction” on Tuesday morning, and said he could have handled the situation differently.

But many of the nearly 100 people who tuned in to a county commissioners’ meeting Tuesday morning said the sheriff’s statement didn’t go far enough and that Kane should resign.

Among those who called for Kane to resign was Commissioner John Wombacher, who said that he “unfortunately” believes Kane has not lived up to his oath of office, in which he vowed to support the U.S. and Maine constitutions.

“I do think the sheriff should resign,” Wombacher said, adding that he should have spoken up sooner about the matter after he found out last summer that the sheriff had barred Healthy Acadia from working at the jail after the group issued a statement in support of Black Lives Matter last June. READ MORE

Even though Maine prisoners live in crowded, congregate settings, and some are older and have underlying health conditions, it’s unclear when they’ll get their shots.

Incarcerated people are four times more likely to get COVID than the general public, and as corrections officers begin rolling up their sleeves, advocates are pressing state officials to make prisoners a priority.

Over the past two weeks, a medical team has been visiting Maine state correctional facilities vaccinating prison staff. By the middle of February, Corrections Commissioner Randy Liberty says more than 760 workers will have received their doses.

“That’s about 70 percent of our staff have agreed to take the vaccination. The governor, myself and all the leadership at MDOC have strongly encouraged our officers as a way to provide a safer environment for them and for the residents in our care to get vaccinated,” he says. LISTEN TO THIS REPORT

Portland workers plan appeal after court rules they won’t get emergency hazard pay until 2022

A judge on Monday rejected a bid by the Chamber of Commerce to invalidate a voter referendum that requires employers to provide hazard pay to low-wage essential workers during the pandemic.

A Maine Superior Court judge ruled that the emergency minimum-wage provision passed by voters is valid under the Maine Constitution and Portland City Code.

The ordinance was expected to take effect 30 days after the election, but the court ruled Monday that it would take effect on Jan. 1, 2022, siding with city attorneys on their interpretation of the City Code.

The court’s ruling provides clarity on the fate of a citizen’s initiative that Portland voters approved in November by a 62-38 margin that raises the minimum wage for essential workers during emergencies, such as the coronavirus pandemic. READ MORE

Janet Mills nominates new judges, but still hasn’t named a new chief justice

Kennebec County facilities manager arrested on rape charges

By Lynda Clancy of the Penobscot Bay Pilot