Maine CDC reports 23 cases of coronavirus, no deaths

The CDC has identified at least two additional outbreaks resulting from a crowded wedding reception in Millinocket, and is now investigating a possible third: an outbreak at Calvary Baptist Church, in Sanford.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday reported 23 new cases of the novel coronavirus and no new deaths, as an outbreak that began at a Millinocket wedding reception spread to a jail, a rehabilitation facility and, health authorities suspect, a church 200 miles away.

An outbreak stemming from a crowded wedding reception in Millinocket has now directly or indirectly infected over 120 people, according to the Maine CDC, including 54 staffers and prisoners at the York County Jail.

On Saturday, health authorities announced that five cases had been detected at Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford, whose pastor apparently officiated the Millinocket wedding.

CDC officials on Sunday confirmed that they were looking into a link between the Sanford church and the Millinocket wedding.

“As part of the investigation (into the church outbreak), Maine CDC is working to determine the extent of links to other outbreaks in York and Penobscot counties, including the outbreak associated with the Millinocket wedding and reception,” spokeswoman Jackie Farwell said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Maine’s cumulative cases rose by 23 patients to 4,512 on Sunday, according to the Maine CDC. Of those, 4,047 have been confirmed by testing and 465 are considered probable cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Subtracting the number of people who have recovered – 3,910 – and died, there were 470 active cases on Sunday.

Nine cases at Maple Crest Rehabilitation Center in Madison also have been connected to the wedding reception.

State officials last week reinstated the license of Big Moose Inn, the venue that hosted the reception, after the business made changes to comply with state pandemic regulations. The inn was found in violation after it hosted an indoor reception with more than 50 people, the limit in Maine; the owners said they tried to stay under the limit by breaking the party into two rooms.

County by county in Maine since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 612 COVID-19 cases in Androscoggin, 38 in Aroostook, 2,187 in Cumberland, 53 in Franklin, 45 in Hancock, 188 in Kennebec, 29 in Knox, 36 in Lincoln, 61 in Oxford, 229 in Penobscot, eight in Piscataquis, 60 in Sagadahoc, 51 in Somerset, 69 in Waldo, 15 in Washington, and 830 in York.

By age, 10.1 percent of patients were under 20, while 16.5 percent were in their 20s, 15.4 percent were in their 30s, 14.8 percent were in their 40s, 16.1 percent were in their 50s, 11.5 percent were in their 60s, 7.8 percent were in their 70s, and 7.6 percent were 80 or over.

Updated hospital capacity information wasn’t available early Sunday morning. Maine’s hospitals had eight patients with COVID-19 on Saturday, of whom two were in intensive care and one was on a ventilator. There were 122 intensive care unit beds available of a statewide 392, and 268 ventilators available of 319. Maine also had 442 alternative ventilators.

Around the world on Sunday, there were 25 million known cases of COVID-19 and more than 843,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States had more than 5.9 million cases and close to 183,000 deaths.

SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com