Another day, another record: Maine reports 590 new cases

A man uses his sleeve to press the crosswalk button at the intersection of High and Congress streets in Portland. Ben McCanna / Team Photographer

State health officials on Thursday reported a daily high of 590 new COVID-19 cases, breaking the record that lasted just 24 hours.

There were nine more deaths, adding to what was by far the deadliest period of the pandemic in Maine.

As of March, there have been 17,901 confirmed or probable cases in the state, according to data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The seven-day average stands at 436 cases, more than double what it was this time last month. Just two months ago, the average number of daily cases was only 30.

Yet another sign of how quickly the virus has spread in recent weeks, the number of active cases (people who have not yet recovered or have died with the virus) has risen to 6,937 – nearly three times the total of a month ago. In other words, about four in 10 people in Maine who have had COVID-19 are currently suffering from it, although it is possible that some of those people have indeed recovered and the news has not yet reached the CDC. The state has reduced its contact tracing efforts.

A recent state-by-state review of cases conducted by Johns Hopkins University found that from December 3 to 14 – the period immediately following Thanksgiving – Maine had the largest increase in cases nationwide, at 99%. It was higher than that of California, Virginia, and Georgia, among others.

When asked about the Johns Hopkins data, Maine CDC director Dr Nirav Shah said he had no reason to doubt it, but he also said Maine tended to look worse when it comes to percentages, as the state started the current outbreak with far fewer cases total than most states. Nonetheless, Vermont, which like Maine has seen a low number of cases compared to other states, has seen its cases increase by 8% over the same period.

“I’m not minimizing,” Shah said in a telephone interview. “What we are seeing is deeply concerning.”

Shah acknowledged during a press briefing on Wednesday that the state was “squarely seeing” the impact of the gatherings over the Thanksgiving holiday, and he feared things could get worse with Christmas in a week’s time.

“If staying at home, staying in your capsule or in your bubble is something that is offered to you, it is certainly the most useful thing you can do this winter,” he said.

New cases were reported Thursday in every county in Maine, led by Cumberland County with 152 cases and York County with 111. Even less populous counties, like Aroostook and Washington, are seeing unprecedented daily increases.

While some counties have seen transmission rates increase dramatically, others have seen them stabilize slightly. Androscoggin County, which had been among the biggest hotspots for weeks, reported relatively modest case numbers so far this week and had just 18 cases on Thursday.

“A lot of what was going on in Androscoggin County was due to a few very large outbreaks,” said Shah, referring to two long-term care facilities, Clover Health Care in Auburn and Russell Park Rehabilitation & Living. Center in Lewiston. “What we’re seeing now is more of this grassroots transmission at the community level.”

There have now been 276 deaths in total and just 100 in the past 30 days. So far in December, 59 people in Maine have died from COVID-19, placing this month on the verge of being the state’s deadliest. In November, the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 was reached at age 67, more than the previous five months combined.

Of the nine deaths reported on Thursday, five were in Oxford County: a man in his 50s, a man in his 80s, two women in his 60s and a woman in her 80s. The other deaths were a man in his 60s from Aroostook County, a woman in her 60s from Cumberland County, a man in her 50s from Kennebec County and a woman in her 60s from York County. Of all the deaths to date, 235 people, or 85%, are 70 years of age or older.

Current COVID-19 hospitalizations increased from four to 191 Thursday, including 46 patients in intensive care and 17 on ventilators. In all, 958 people have been hospitalized at one time with the virus.

Because hospitalizations and deaths often delay peaks of cases by one to two weeks, many more cases could arise.

Last week, Governor Janet Mills once again tightened the state’s mask requirement for public places, urging businesses to deny entry to anyone not wearing a face mask and to call the police if necessary. Business owners who disobey the mask could be charged with a Class E felony and fined up to $ 10,000.

But Mills also said she “lacked available public health tools to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” and hinted that more restrictions may be needed.

“If (these) targeted steps don’t work, tougher restrictions might be needed, including lowering collection limits like other states have done, or even business closures like some have done. “Mills said. “These options are a last resort, and they are a last resort, because they have a devastating effect on people, their income and make them feel isolated.”

Asked Thursday whether Mills is about to announce additional restrictions, spokeswoman Lindsay Crete said “the governor is focusing on measures that protect public health while safeguarding the economic health of our State ”, and mentioned the measures that have already been taken.

“While there are still other tools available, the governor believes that at the moment everyone must take a shared responsibility for protecting public health – this means reducing normal social events, changing behaviors and taking responsibility. measures needed to reduce exposure to this deadly virus, ”Crete said in an email. “Everyone needs to be aware of the effect their behavior has on the lives of others, including those close to them, and of the crushing burden the pandemic is placing on hospitals, nursing homes and healthcare professionals across Maine. . “

We did not really talk about closing schools to in-person learning as in the spring. Many schools have adopted a hybrid model in which students attend school two days a week to limit the number of buildings and classrooms at all times. According to the most recent data from the Maine Department of Education, there have been 531 cases of COVID-19 in the past 30 days associated with schools. This includes 42 schools with active outbreaks, although only 13 of them have more than five cases.

Maine is far from alone in the recent wave. Many other states are experiencing their highest rates of cases, hospitalizations and death during the current and sustained outbreak. In fact, Wednesday was the deadliest day in the pandemic in the United States to date, with more than 3,600 deaths across the country attributed to COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. The total number is now over 300,000.

The number of new cases on Wednesday, more than 247,000, and the total hospitalizations, more than 113,000, also broke previous records set days earlier.

Other states have imposed restrictions in response to the latest peak, including closing restaurants for in-person dining, instituting curfews and lowering the allowed limit for indoor gatherings. But some states, including California and Minnesota, are seeing businesses and customers openly defy those orders.

The worst numbers in the pandemic come as vaccines slowly begin to flow. Asked about the mismatch between the positive news about vaccines and the distressing news about cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Shah agreed it was “cognitively jarring.”

“But what I tell people is that the human mind can simultaneously have good and bad thoughts,” he says. “We don’t have to fear the good news. We can be saddened by what we are seeing with cases and deaths and at the same time encouraged by the vaccine.

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