One more death, 38 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Maine

Maine reported 38 additional cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the highest daily total in two weeks, and one new death.

The state has now tracked 3,636 confirmed and probable cases since the pandemic hit Maine in mid-March and 115 died with COVID-19. The last death was an 80-year-old woman in Penobscot County, the fifth death in that county.

Friday’s total cases are the highest since July 3, when 45 new cases were reported. Still, the 10-day average is approximately 20 cases, down from an average of 29 during the previous 10-day period.

At least 11 of the new cases Friday are associated with an outbreak at American Roots, a clothing manufacturer in Westbrook that has been manufacturing personal protective equipment since April. State health officials are investigating the source of that outbreak, but all employees have been evaluated and the facility has closed several times for a thorough cleanup.

Co-owner Ben Waxman said Thursday that he is proud of how his employees have handled the outbreak, and praised the cooperation of officials with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state is also looking at two smaller outbreaks: at Corsetti’s Market in Westbrook and at the Goodwill Northern New England warehouse in Gorham, which have seen three cases. No new cases were reported Friday of an outbreak at the Cumberland County Jail.

The number of active cases in Maine now stands at 407, which is an increase from 390 on Thursday. State health officials have been warning for several weeks that although the numbers have remained low here, vigilance is still needed.

“The people of Maine, all of us, have done exemplary work to control COVID-19, but that could change if we let our guard down,” Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said Thursday.

In other parts of the country, particularly in the southern and western states, cases have skyrocketed, forcing some to re-establish restrictions and others to demand the mandatory use of face covers in public. The United States recorded more than 77,000 new cases on Thursday, which was a record. The number of daily cases has more than doubled since June 24. Some states, including Texas and Florida, are also recording a record number of deaths.

States are also seeing hospitals filling up with COVID-19 patients and fear they will run out of space if things get worse. In Maine, 375 people have been hospitalized at some point during the pandemic, but there were only 12 people in a hospital as of Friday, one less than Thursday. The number of hospitalizations has been gradually decreasing since it peaked in late May, meaning the state’s resources are not depleted at this time.

Maine also continues to increase testing capacity, most recently with the creation of 18 “swab and shipping” sites across the state. As of Friday, the state has conducted more than 133,000 COVID-19 swab tests, equivalent to approximately 10 percent of the population. Maine’s overall positivity rate is just over 3 percent, well below that of most states.

However, more recently, the positivity rate has been even lower. Of the nearly 3,000 tests processed Thursday, only 1.28 percent tested positive and the 7-day average is 1.16 percent, according to the CDC. In the past 30 days, Maine has increased its daily testing volume by 48 percent and is one of 11 states currently meeting its testing target, as defined by the federal CDC.

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