PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine CDC was told this morning by MaineHealth that preliminary testing in its lab shows one more person in Maine has tested 'presumptive positive' for the disease caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Another person's test is considered preliminary presumptive positive.
This means Maine currently has two presumptive positive tests and one preliminary presumptive positive test.
The test samples have been sent to the Maine CDC for review and will require confirmation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Maine recorded its first presumptive positive test for COVID-19 Thursday, March 12. She is a woman in her 50s from Androscoggin County, is in self-isolation at her home, according to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
The new presumptive positive test is a man in his 50s. The man was screened at a MaineHealth outpatient clinic and is now in self-isolation at home. Portland city officials said he worked at the city's India Street Public Health Center and came into contact with 23 other staff members and 7 volunteers, all of whom are in self-quarantine. The man is being cared for at Maine Medical Center.
The preliminary presumptive positive case is a woman in her 20s.
It is not yet clear where these two individuals are from.
Maine CDC staff, working closely with MaineHealth providers, have begun investigating the patients’ travel histories under the assumption that the preliminary test results are presumptive positive.
The patient at Maine Medical Center is in isolation, In accordance with CDC guidelines.
“While it is understandably unsettling to members of the community that this outbreak has come to Maine, we are prepared for this across our system,” Dora Mills, MD, MaineHealth’s chief health improvement officer said.
Maine DHHS said the immediate concern is for the care and treatment of the individuals who have tested positive.