Two more die in York, Kennebec counties as case count rises again - Press Herald

Two more people have died of coronavirus in Maine, and state health officials have confirmed 303 cases.

The death toll is now five, with the new fatalities in Kennebec and York Counties, the Maine Center for Disease Control reported on its website Tuesday morning. MaineGeneral Health said one of the deaths occurred at Alfond Center for Health in Augusta.

The total case count of 303 represents a 28-case increase since Monday, when there were 275 confirmed cases.

Fifty-seven people are hospitalized, including 30 in Cumberland County and 13 in York County, and 68 people have recovered, the Maine CDC said.

Both of the new deaths were women in their 80s who were hospitalized, Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the public health agency, said at a briefing Tuesday morning.

One person who “spent some time” at the Oxford Street homeless shelter in Portland has also tested positive, Shah said. He said the CDC has been working with Portland to prepare for this and those plans will now be implemented.

Shah said the backlog of testing analysis is down to 600 tests from 1,300 last week. The remaining tests are for people who are in the lowest risk category, he said, and there is no backlog of individuals who are hospitalized or health-care workers, who are highest-priority and highest risk.

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Maine’s supply of intensive care unit beds stands at 190, of which 90 were available Tuesday, and there are 330 total ventilators, of which 262 were available. The state also has 89 “alternative ventilators” approved for use in emergencies by the federal government, Shah said

Beginning Tuesday, he said, hospitals were being asked to report additional information to the CDC on supplies and other resources.

Maine received a new shipment of personal protective equipment from the federal government last night, and the CDC will begin distributing that equipment soon, he said. But Shah warned yesterday that this could be Maine’s last shipment from the national stockpile.

State health officials reported 22 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, which increased the statewide total to 275.

In one alarming trend, 43 of the state’s 275 positive cases recorded by Monday – or nearly 16 percent – were health care workers. Shah said the number of infected health care workers did not rise on Tuesday.

On Monday, he said the CDC was investigating potential exposures in health care workplaces, and he made a point of personally thanking workers in the health care industry – including doctors, nurses, custodial staff, cafeteria workers, laundry staff and first responders – for their work during the crisis.

Maine was slated to receive its third shipment of additional personal protective equipment, or PPE, from the federal government’s national stockpile as early as Monday evening. That shipment was expected to include about 60,000 N95 respirators masks, 143,000 surgical masks, 31,000 face shields, 25,000 surgical gowns, 1,500 coveralls and 184,000 gloves.

Shah said those supplies will help alleviate short-term needs, but that it was difficult to say whether it will be enough in the long term. He said Maine has received “a paltry amount” and reiterated Gov. Janet Mills’ call on the federal government to release additional supplies, although that is not guaranteed.

Someone placed a mask on the Maine Lobsterman at an empty Lobsterman Park in Portland. Staff Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/

On Monday, Maine’s congressional delegation joined in those efforts in a letter sent to Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden wrote that the state is “facing critical challenges” obtaining both PPEs and the chemicals needed to analyze coronavirus tests.

“As the oldest state in the nation by median age, Maine is particularly vulnerable to the direst impacts of COVID-19,” the delegation wrote to Wolf. ” The state’s proximity to more densely populated areas with active hotspots also makes it a potential refuge destination and increases the risk of spread. Given your role as the head of the department overseeing FEMA and its coordination of the federal COVID-19 response, I urge you to ensure that Maine receives the essential supplies and support needed to care for those suffering from COVID-19 and protect the many more at risk, including our health care workers and first responders.

Referring to critical health care equipment, Shah said Maine now has 190 intensive care beds of which 90 are available, and 330 ventilators, of which 262 are available. In addition, Maine has 89 “alternative ventilators” approved for use by the federal government.

There are three positive cases at a group home in Freeport, Shah said, and also cases in Leeds. Shah cited recent scientific papers highlighting the risks to people in congregate settings, such as nursing homes or shelters.

He said when Maine CDC learns of a case in such a setting it notifies the facility of the case and that a CDC epidemiologist will conduct an investigation. It also asks the facility to notify residents, staff and family members.

CDC also asks managers to consider shutting down to visitors and pursue aggressive sanitizing of the facility, he said.

A woman in her 80s and a man in his 60s, both from Cumberland County, were the second and third people in the state to die from COVID-19, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The man was a longtime employee of the Maine Department of Transportation, the agency said in a news release Sunday afternoon. The woman has not been identified.

The employee recently had gone on vacation – the agency did not say where – and didn’t return to work afterward, so the danger of infection among his co-workers is low, officials said.

Also on Monday, a staff member at the Mabel I. Wilson School in Cumberland became the third person connected to the school to test positive for coronavirus, Jeffrey Porter, superintendent of Maine School Administrative District 51, told the community in a letter.

The elementary school, which serves 690 students in kindergarten through grade 3, has seen one student and two staff members test positive in less than a week.

Maine reported its first coronavirus fatality on Friday – a Cumberland County man in his 80s.

As coronavirus spreads across the state, the Maine CDC is trying to acquire the medicine and equipment needed to treat patients and keep health workers safe.

Shah said Monday that additional chemicals received last week will enable his lab to conduct about 2,000 more tests. In addition, he said the state lab has made progress chipping away at a backlog of tests awaiting analysis, reducing that backlog from 1,300 to 800 in recent days.

Maine has taken emergency measures, closing schools and “nonessential” businesses and encouraging residents to stay indoors, except for such activities as grocery shopping and physical exercise.

As concerns mount about potential transmission of the virus from out-of-state visitors, Maine posted messages on electronic sign boards along the Maine Turnpike that direct people coming from areas with high infection rates – such as New York – to self-quarantine for at least 14 days.

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