State health officials reported 215 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the third consecutive day of at least 200 cases as the highly transmissible delta variant continues to work its way through Maine.

One additional death was reported as well.

The seven-day rolling average now stands at 170 cases, which is more than double what it was just two weeks ago and up from 24 cases on average this time last month, according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data.

As of Friday, 15 of 16 Maine counties fit the U.S. CDC definition of high or substantial transmission, where masks are recommended indoors regardless of a person’s vaccination status. Waldo, Penobscot and Piscataquis counties are seeing the highest rates of new transmission. Only Kennebec County has yet to reach the substantial threshold.

Across the United States, more than 90 percent of all counties fall into those categories as well, and states with lower vaccination rates are being hit hardest. Hospitals in many southern states are being overrun with COVID-19 patients.

Since the first case was reported in Maine exactly 17 months ago, there have been 72,333 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 and 904 deaths. Both remain among the lowest per capita of any state.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine increased to 69 on Friday, the highest total since June 4. Of those, 35 are in critical care and 15 on ventilators.

As the state grapples with this latest wave of new cases, more and more efforts are underway to impose vaccines mandates.

Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday announced that all health care workers must be vaccinated by October 1. That includes staff at hospitals, doctors offices, nursing homes and more.

Additionally, the Maine Community College System announced that all students must be vaccinated before starting classes, joining a growing list of colleges to impose vaccine mandates.

“The latest information about the delta variant makes it clear we must require vaccinations to keep our community as safe as possible,” MCCS President David Daigler said in a statement.

Across the country, many music venues and promoters have begun implementing a vaccine mandate or proof of negative COVID-19 test in order to attend shows. An increasing number of private businesses also have made vaccines a condition of employment.

Although there have been some breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated people, the overwhelming majority have been among unvaccinated.

Since vaccines were made available in Maine, there have been 36,785 cases. Of those, just 712 have been among fully vaccinated people, or less than 2 percent. Similarly, of the 816 people who have been hospitalized in Maine since vaccines were available, just 32 (or about 4 percent) have been fully vaccinated.

Vaccinations have slowed way down in Maine since mid-June, although they have seen a slight uptick in recent weeks as cases have risen. As of Friday, 824,626 individuals had received final doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That accounts for 61.4 percent of all residents and 69.6 percent of those 12 and older who are eligible.

Overall, younger residents have been far more reluctant to get vaccinated. Among those 50 and older, the rate is 82 percent. Among those between the ages of 12-49, the rate drops to 57 percent.

There are also wide geographic disparities that show rural, conservative counties have much lower rates than counties along Maine’s coast, which tend to skew more progressive. Cumberland County has the highest rate of eligible residents fully vaccinated, at 82 percent, while four counties — Somerset, Piscataquis, Franklin and Oxford — have yet to reach 60 percent among eligible individuals.

Maine still trails only Vermont and Massachusetts among states with the highest rate of vaccination, according to Bloomberg.

This story will be updated.

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