MILLINOCKET, Maine — Maine Center for Disease Control officials says 53 people connected with an August 7th Millinocket wedding are now infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The Maine CDC says their investigators have identified infected people who have had contact with people at the wedding or people who have had contact with people who had contact with people that were at the wedding.
The CDC said Monday that it had opened an investigation into a COVID-19 outbreak associated with a wedding reception at Big Moose Inn in Millinocket. At that time, 24 people associated with the wedding had tested positive for COVID-19. Of that total, Maine CDC has identified 18 people who attended the reception and six others who had close contact with reception attendees. All of the confirmed cases at that point were Maine residents.
On a Facebook post Monday, Millinocket Regional Hospital CEO Dr. Robert Peterson said 28 confirmed cases stemmed from the reception. He predicted that numbers would increase as testing continued.
"What (the hospital is) reporting is the total number of individuals who are positive; what we're reporting is the number that are associated with the outbreak. As we learn more, those numbers will likely converge," Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said during his press conference on Tuesday.
The CDC says the first group, defined as secondary cases, had direct contact with people who attended the wedding. The second group, defined as tertiary cases, had some form of contact with the first group.
The Maine CDC says 41 of the 53 cases are confirmed at this time. They say the age range of the people connected is from 4 years old to 98 years old. The CDC says 83% of these new cases have confirmed COVID-19 symptoms.
On Friday, the CDC says one person associated with the Millinocket wedding has died. The Maine CDC press release says, "Maine CDC expresses condolences to the individual's family and loved ones. While this case is reflected in Maine CDC's cumulative COVID-19 case data, because the notification process can sometimes take multiple days, the death is not currently reflected in the data."
"We are sorry to share that this patient passed away early this afternoon," Millinocket Regional Hospital CEO Robert Peterson wrote in an update Friday. "Our thoughts and sympathies are with her family as they cope with this difficult loss."
The CDC stresses events such as weddings pose an elevated risk of community spread.
"Maine CDC’s Health Inspection Program on Thursday issued an Imminent Health Hazard citation to Big Moose Inn in Millinocket after an investigation determined that the number of reception attendees exceeded what is allowed under the Governor’s Executive Order.
Those who attend social gatherings should follow physical distancing guidelines including wearing cloth face coverings when not eating or drinking and maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet between individuals and 6 feet between household groups as much as possible. Social gatherings at which people comingle, such as wedding receptions, are considered single gatherings even if part of it is inside and part of it is outside.
- The number of individuals who can gather in a shared space must not exceed the limit established by the Governor’s Executive Order, currently set at 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors and fewer if the space cannot accommodate 5 people per 1,000 feet.
- Further breaking a gathering up into smaller groups is encouraged to reduce potential exposure.
- If a space cannot accommodate the gathering limit without complying with the 6-foot distancing requirement, occupancy must be limited to allow for such compliance.
- Any entity that violates the current emergency gathering rules as outlined in the Executive Orders of the Governor may be charged with a Class E crime that includes punishment of a fine up to $10,000, and the payment of civil damages to the State for its cost in contact tracing, testing, and otherwise determining the extent of certain community transmission.
- Face coverings should be worn in public settings when physical distancing is not possible.
For general information about COVID-19 in Maine, contact 211 Maine by calling 211, emailing info@211maine.org, or texting your ZIP code to 898-211. For questions specific to cases or potential cases, individuals may also call Maine CDC at 1-800-821-5821."
Anyone who believes they may have been exposed to the virus and/or who has symptoms of COVID-19 should call their health care provider before seeking medical care. COVID-19 symptoms include cough, fever, shortness of breath, fatigue, or body aches among many others. A comprehensive list of symptoms can be found here.
At NEWS CENTER Maine, we're focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the illness. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: /coronavirus
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Editor's Note: The video below aired on Tuesday, August 18.