State health officials reported 363 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday but no additional deaths linked to the viral disease.

Tuesday’s elevated figure represents cases detected between Saturday and Monday. Maine’s seven-day average of new cases has dipped somewhat — standing at 162 as of Tuesday compared to 174 early last week — but is still more than eight times higher than in early July, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of counties classified with high or substantial levels of community transmission is also rising again as the more contagious delta variant of the virus continues to spread.

Based on the latest data, only Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties have moderate levels of transmission. Cumberland, Oxford, Kennebec, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock and Washington counties are all experiencing substantial levels of transmission while York, Franklin, Somerset, Piscataquis, Penobscot and Aroostook counties have high levels.

Masking is recommended in public, indoor settings for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, in areas with substantial or high rates of transmission.

Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, held a briefing at 2 p.m. today to discuss the latest COVID-19 developments in Maine.

To date, the Maine CDC has tracked 74,022 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 since the coronavirus was first detected in the state in March 2020. There have been at least 924 deaths linked to the disease in Maine, although the state continues to have one of the lowest infection and death rates in the nation during the pandemic.

Hospitalizations are also increasing in Maine amid the most recent case surge. New figures were not yet available Tuesday morning but as of Monday there were 123 people hospitalized statewide with COVID-19 — with 61 of those individuals in critical care — compared to 98 hospitalizations and 43 critical care patients on Friday.

The pace of vaccinations has also picked up in Maine and across the country in recent weeks as the delta variant spreads. As of Tuesday, 70.5 percent of eligible individuals aged 12 or older in Maine had received the full regimen of doses needed to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For the entire population, the vaccination rate was 62.1 percent.

On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the vaccine produced by Pfizer, likely opening the door to additional vaccination mandates by businesses, schools and governments across the country. The vaccines produced by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson currently have emergency use authorization from the FDA and are being reviewed for full approval.

This story will be updated.

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