The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced two new deaths from the new coronavirus in the state Friday.
The new deaths include one woman in her 70s and one woman in her 80s, both from Waldo County. There have been 29 total fatalities related to coronavirus in Maine as of Friday.
There are now 827 cases of the virus in Maine, an increase of 31 cases since Thursday, according to Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah.
The health agency is continuing to investigate outbreaks at five congregate care facilities. According to Shah, there are 38 positive cases at Tall Pines Retirement and Health Care Community in Belfast, 42 at the Maine Veteran's Home facility in Scarborough, 70 at the Augusta Center for Health and Rehabilitation, eight at The Cedars in Portland and four at Falmouth by the Sea in Falmouth.
When asked about the new guidelines for reopening state economies that the White House released on Thursday, Shah explained that the approach is a good start, but it is a framework.
"Like all skeletons, it requires more meat on the bones," he said.
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A plan for reopening the Maine economy will need to be more specific to the state's industries and will be different for certain parts of the state, according to Shah.
"The way that we approach hairdressers is going to look different than the way we approach mass gatherings," he explained.
During the update, Shah talked about his personal experience processing his grief around the pandemic.
"Many of us are grieving the lives of people who we’ve lost," said Shah. "But we're also grieving the lives that we ourselves used to have not too long ago."
Several times during the update, Shah asked Mainers to be there for their family members and friends if they reach out for help.
"You can still be there for people without being there with them," said Shah.
