Patty Wight

News Producer
  • Maine Public

Patty is a graduate of the University of Vermont and a multiple award-winning reporter for Maine Public Radio. Her specialty is health coverage: from policy stories to patient stories, physical health to mental health and anything in between. Patty joined Maine Public Radio in 2012 after producing stories as a freelancer for NPR programs such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She got hooked on radio at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine, and hasn’t looked back ever since.

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Maine Lab To Release 5-Minute COVID-19 Test

By • 15 hours ago
abbott.com

A new 5-minute test for COVID-19 is being produced in Maine. Abbott Laboratories in Scarborough is expected to begin releasing the tests this week. They’re being lauded by President Donald Trump as a potential game changer in the fight against the coronavirus, but the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control is advising caution.

A False Sense Of Security: Physicians Concerned About Number Of People Fleeing To Maine

By • 21 hours ago
Willis Ryder Arnold / Maine Public

State officials, including Maine Gov. Janet Mills, have expressed concerns about people from out of state coming to Maine seeking refuge from the coronavirus. Physicians are also concerned.

WATCH: COVID-19 Cases in Maine Rise To 275, Maine CDC Director Says

By & • 21 hours ago
Nick Woodward / Maine Public

Updated March 30, 2020 at 12:58 p.m. ET.

Maine now has 275 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, 22 more since yesterday. That's according to Maine Center for Disease Control Director Dr. Nirav Shah.

Rural Maine Hospitals Get Creative To Prepare Facilities For COVID-19

By • Mar 27, 2020
Patty Wight / Maine Public

State officials have been reminding Mainers that the worst of the coronavirus outbreak is still to come.

WATCH: Maine CDC Confirms State's First Death Attributed To COVID-19, As Cases Rise To 168

By & • Mar 27, 2020
Nick Woodward / Maine Public

Updated March 27, 2020 at 14:30 p.m. ET.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills has confirmed the state's first COVID-19 death. At an Augusta news briefing Friday, the governor said the individual was a man in his 80s from Cumberland County.

WATCH: Maine Now Has 155 Cases Of COVID-19, 13 More Than A Day Ago

By & • Mar 27, 2020
Nick Woodward / Maine Public

Updated March 26, 2020 at 1:13 p.m. ET.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Maine has grown by 13 in a day to 155.  That's according to Maine Center for Disease Control Director Dr. Nirav Shah, who presented the new numbers Thursday morning at an Augusta press briefing.

Mills Eases Way For Out-Of-State Doctors To Practice Medicine In Maine

By • Mar 25, 2020
Nick Woodward / Maine Public

In response to the coronavirus, Gov. Janet Mills is making it easier for out-of-state physicians to practice medicine in Maine.

WATCH: Maine Now Has 142 Cases Of COVID-19; DHHS Office Closed After Employee Tests Positive

By , & • Mar 25, 2020
Nick Woodward / Maine Public

Updated March 25, 2020 at 3:10 p.m. ET.

Maine now has 142 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, a jump of 24 cases in a day. Eighty-seven of the cases are in Cumberland County, and 23 are in York County.

Portland Issues Emergency Stay At Home Order

By & • Mar 25, 2020
Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press

The City of Portland has announced an Emergency Stay at Home order for all nonessential personal and business services effective at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 25. Seventy-four of the state’s 118 cases have been confirmed in Cumberland County.

WATCH: Mills Orders 'Public Facing' Maine Businesses To Close As COVID-19 Cases Rise To 118

By & • Mar 25, 2020
Nick Woodward / Maine Public

Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday issued an executive order that mandates all nonessential businesses and operations to close public-facing locations for two weeks.

There Are Signs That Anxiety Is Rising In Maine, As Cases Of COVID-19 Increase

By • Mar 24, 2020
Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press

Those who work in the field of mental health say that just as cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in Maine, so is the level of anxiety. Calls to both the state crisis line and the non-crisis "warm" line are up.

Number Of Maine COVID-19 Cases Rises To 89

By • Mar 22, 2020
Willis Ryder Arnold / Maine Public

The Maine Center for Disease Control is confirming 89 cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday, with eight people hospitalized.

Limited Supplies Mean Even If You Have Symptoms, You Might Not Get Tested For COVID-19

By • Mar 22, 2020
Getty Images via NPR

In Maine, as in most other parts of the country, there's a limited supply of tests for COVID-19. That's forcing health care providers to reserve testing for the most high-risk patients, under new guidelines by the state Center for Disease Control. In the meantime, some Mainers who have been tested say they are waiting days for results that were initially expected within 24 hours.

Maine Hospitals Could Run Out Of Beds If Coronavirus Infection Rate Continues To Climb In The State

By • Mar 20, 2020
Getty Images via NPR

In the past week, the number of cases of COVID-19 in Maine has climbed from one to 52.

Maine Now Has 56 Cases Of COVID-19, State CDC Director Says

By • Mar 20, 2020
Nick Woodward / Maine Public

Updated March 20, 2020 at 12:55 p.m. ET.

In his latest daily update, Maine Center for Disease Control director Dr. Nirav Shah says there are now 56 cases of COVID-19 in Maine.  Shah says that's an increase of eight cases.

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