There are now 60 cases associated with the COVID-19 outbreak in Waldo County, and one person is hospitalized.
Maine’s daily case numbers have also been climbing in recent weeks, with 53 more COVID-19 cases reported by the Maine CDC on Monday. In the past two days, more than 50 new cases were reported each day for the first time since May.
On Maine Calling on Monday CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said that the state’s positivity rate is also inching up, currently at 0.67 percent.
“All of these numbers. The new increase in cases, plus the increase in positivity rates, suggest that the surge of cases that we’ve started to see starting a couple of weeks ago in other parts of the country, the upper Midwest and Great Plains states, it may slowly be working its way here,” he said.
Shah is urging Mainers to curb the spread, which is currently being driven by small household gatherings.
“What we’ve seen in Maine just in the last 48 hours is that a large number of the new cases that we’re seeing were folks who got it while they were indoors, in households,” he said.
With Halloween just days away, Shah said there are ways for people to trick or treat safely.
“Especially if you keep that bubble really tight so it’s just your family that’s out there. Making sure you’re distanced. Making sure you’ve got masks on. There’s an opportunity and a way to do this,” he said.
He also cautioned that some children and adults with medical issues may need to find alternative ways to celebrate.
And as colder months usher in the holiday season, Shah said for some families, a small Thanksgiving gathering may be feasible. But larger, multi-generational families may need to celebrate virtually.
“Which is by Zoom, by other video conferencing methods. As sad as that is, which I acknowledge, we’re not out of this yet,” he said.
No new deaths were reported on Monday — Maine’s death toll of 146 has held steady since Oct. 17.
In total, 6,254 Mainers have been diagnosed with the disease, with 5,363 recoveries, leaving 745 active cases in the state.
