The Mills administration has announced its plan to expand contact tracing to identify and isolate individuals who have been exposed to the coronavirus.
The strategy includes more than quadrupling the state's roughly 30 contact tracers. The state will also deploy a new reporting tool called the SARA alert system.
Maine Center for Disease Control Director Dr. Nirav Shah says the SARA system gives his agency multiple ways to communicate with individuals with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and their close contacts.
"If someone is comfortable using text messaging, that works for SARA alert. If they're much more comfortable talking to somebody on a phone, SARA alert can do that too."
The state also plans to expand social supports for people in quarantine and isolation, including delivered meals.
Shah made this announcement at Tuesday's press briefing.
Also Tuesday, the CDC announced that one more person has died, making 79 deaths in the state.
The most recent death was a man in his 80s from Cumberland county with COVID-19 has died. Shah also reported the first death associated with the Cape Memory Care nursing home outbreak in Cape Elizabeth, which has sickened 47 residents and 20 staff.
So far, 2109 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Maine, an increase of 35 since yesterday Monday.
Updated 4:39 p.m. May 26, 2020.
