The number of cases of COVID-19 in Maine has climbed to 32. That includes 23 confirmed and nine presumptive cases, according to the state CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah.The average age is 50, but one case includes a young child in Androscoggin County. "We've also seen that many cases are linked to close household contacts," Shah said. "Spouses, things of that nature."
Cases of coronavirus turned up first in Androscoggin County then Cumberland, Knox and Lincoln counties, and have now expanded to York, Kennebec and Oxford counties, Shah said. Three people with COVID-19 are currently hospitalized in Maine.
Shah said the hardest hit county is Cumberland, where people have contracted the virus from others within their communities, not just from someone who has traveled outside of the state or country. He said that could happen in other Maine counties.
"We expect there to be evidence of community transmission detected in other areas of Maine, as we have seen across the Northeast and certainly within New England," Shah said.
Curbing community transmission is one of the reasons state and federal officials have recommended closing schools, limiting gatherings to very small groups and social distancing.
Originally published March 17, 2020 at 11:21 a.m. ET.
Updated 1:38 p.m. ET.
