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Real-time Maine coronavirus updates: Sunday, October 11

Find developments on the Maine coronavirus, COVID-19 outbreak as we work together to separate facts from fear. Sunday, October 11, 2020

MAINE, USA — KEY MAINE CORONAVIRUS FACTS

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11

Maine CDC reported no additional deaths of a person with COVID-19, keeping a total of 143 Mainers that have died with COVID-19.

Of the 5,723 total COVID-19 cases in Maine, 5,128 of these cases are confirmed by test and 595 are probable.

463 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point during their COVID-19 illness.

4,970 Mainers have recovered from COVID-19.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10

Maine CDC reported no additional deaths of a person with COVID-19, keeping a total of 143 Mainers that have died with COVID-19.

Of the 5,696 total COVID-19 cases in Maine, 5,105 of these cases are confirmed by test and 591 are probable.

462 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point during their COVID-19 illness.

4,951 Mainers have recovered from COVID-19.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9

Maine CDC reported one additional death of a person with COVID-19, bringing the state death total to 143.

Maine CDC says the person who died was a man in his 80s from Oxford County.

Of the 5,666 total COVID-19 cases in Maine, 5,075 of these cases are confirmed by test and 591 are probable.

460 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point during their COVID-19 illness.

4,933 Mainers have recovered from COVID-19.

Credit: NCM

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8

Maine CDC did not report any additional deaths of people with COVID-19, meaning the state death total remains at 142.

Of the 5,639 total COVID-19 cases in Maine, 5,048 are confirmed by test and 591 are probable.

459 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point during their COVID-19 illness.

4,900 Mainers have recovered from COVID-19.

Credit: NCM

Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap is joining Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah for the briefing on Thursday to answer questions about safety protocols and other topics related to this year’s General Election.

Dr. Shah says in the past 30 days, 28 Mainers have been hospitalized due to COVID-19; seven are currently in the hospital, one of whom is in the ICU. Dr. Shah says Maine's current hospitalization rate is .5 hospitalizations for every 100,000 people. For context, the national rate is 9 per 100,000 people.

Twenty-seven percent of cases in the past 24 hours have been amongst individuals in Cumberland County; 25% have been from York County; and 16% of cases were from Kennebec County. 

Outbreak Updates:

  • Hartt Transportation in Bangor: The outbreak investigation was recently closed. 
  • B.E.K. Inc. facility in Brunswick: An outbreak investigation was recently opened at the facility after four cases among staff members were identified. 
  • Kids Count Child Care center in Augusta: An outbreak investigation was recently opened after four cases were identified. 
  • Lonza Group in Rockland: Six cases were identified at the biotech facility. 
  • Community Regional Charter School in Cornville: 13 total cases: 4 among students and 9 among staff members. 
  • Woodland Pulp facility Baileyville: Total of 19 cases; two additional positive results from their last round of testing. 
  • N.D. Paper Mill in Rumford: Total of 24 cases. Another round of testing is underway at the facility. 
  • Pinnacle Health Care: 22 total cases: 15 among residents, seven among staff members.

Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS): Wednesday night, the Maine CDC opened an outbreak investigation into the property management division of the Department after finding a total of five cases of COVID-19. Dr. Shah says this is not a facility that provides direct customer service to the people of Maine. DAFS has already notified the close contacts of every employee who may have potentially been exposed in the outbreak setting.

Dr. Shah said, "The central question in a workplace outbreak is whether the COVID-19 transmission that we have detected occurred at the workplace or, rather, was it just detected at the workplace and actually occurred somewhere else?" 

RELATED: DAFS, Maine CDC investigating COVID-19 outbreak among DAFS Employees

Dr. Shah says the Maine CDC has recently learned of possible exposures that occurred at hockey games. A series of potential exposures have been linked to a hockey referee who tested positive for COVID-19, Dr. Shah. 

Dr. Shah said the referee was on the ice for a total of eight games over a two-day period:

  • Biddeford Ice Arena in Biddeford, Oct. 3: the 8:35 a.m. game and the 10:05 a.m. game
  • Biddeford Ice Arena in Biddeford, Oct. 4: 7:40 a.m., 9:20 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. games
  • North Yarmouth Academy, Oct. 4: 6:30-10:15 p.m.
  • Merrill Fay Arena in Laconia, N.H., Oct. 3: 5:45 p.m. game

Maine CDC recommends that if you or a family member were on the ice for one of these games, you should consider yourself a close contact of someone who has COVID-19 and you should self-quarantine for 14-day since your exposure on the ice. 

He says you should also consider getting tested for COVID-19. 

If you experience COVID-19 symptoms, Dr. Shah says you should notify your health care provider immediately (call ahead first). 

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap

Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap joined the briefing to discuss how he and the State are responding to the pandemic for the upcoming election. 

Dunlap says there will in-person voting on Election Day this year, like always, but says voters should allow for additional time to complete the voting process in light of capacity limits, social distancing requirements, and sanitation measures in place. 

PPE is being provided for election workers. The use of masks are required for election workers, there will be tabletop barries in place, polling stations will be sanitized, and pens will be single-use. 

Dunlap says voters are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings but they will not be turned away from voting for not wearing one. 

Of course, a great way to get around these restrictions and changes, Dunlap says, is to vote via absentee ballot. In the 2016 General Election, there were around 42,000 absentee ballots issued in Maine. This year, so far 270,000 requests for absentee ballots have been made. 

Ballot drop boxes are available around Maine and there's also a new ballot tracking service available that recently launched so voters can be confident in their means of voting.

RELATED: 2020 Election: Everything you need to know about Maine absentee voting

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Updates

THE DATA

RESOURCES

Coronavirus, COVID-19 Background 

The official name for the coronavirus is “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes is named “coronavirus disease 2019” or “COVID-19” for short. Coronavirus is a family of viruses, which can infect people and animals. The viruses can cause the common cold or more serious diseases like SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.

The CDC says symptoms of the coronavirus include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, and in some cases sore throat.

The CDC says there are simple steps to take to reduce the possible spread of COVID-19:

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
  • Stay home while you're sick and avoid close contact with others
  • The Maine Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is holding coronavirus briefings on Tuesdays and Thursdays with director Dr. Nirav Shah to keep the public up to date on the situation in Maine

NEWS CENTER Maine YouTube COVID-19 Playlist

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