Maine reports 31 new coronavirus cases, with 14 in York County - Press Herald

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Maine reported 31 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with nearly half – 14 – occurring in York County, an area of several recent outbreaks. There were no additional deaths.

Meanwhile, in Cumberland County, Maine’s most populous county, only two new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Thursday. After adjusting for previously probable COVID-19 cases that turned out to be negative, Maine had a net increase of 26 cases on Thursday.

Dr. Nirav Shah, Maine CDC director, will brief the media at 2 p.m. today.

Posters from the State Theatre letting customers know where they can find updates hang in the window of the now permanently closed Port City Music Hall in downtown Portland on Monday, August 31. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Since the pandemic began, Maine has tracked 4,760 cases of COVID-19, and 134 deaths.

Of the 23 new cases announced Wednesday, 14 were in York County, which is dealing with several active outbreaks that Shah called “deeply concerning” on Tuesday.

York County’s seven-day rolling average of new confirmed cases hit an all-time high of 13 per day on Wednesday, a per-capita rate nearly quadruple that of Cumberland County and far and away the highest in the state. Last week, the state downgraded York County’s readiness for school reopening because of the elevated risk of virus transmission, making it the only Maine county that is classified as yellow rather green under the color-coded system.

Public K-12 schools opened in many parts of the state this week and other districts are preparing to welcome back students, at least part time, beginning next week. The state will monitor schools closely for any outbreaks.

The two most recent outbreaks occurred at the Sanford American Legion and the Lafayette Club in Sanford. Also recently, health officials have responded to outbreaks at York County Jail in Alfred, Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford, Seal Rock Health Care nursing home in Saco and the Sanford Fire Department.

The jail outbreak is directly linked to an Aug. 7 wedding and reception in the Millinocket area that has been connected to 158 cases and three deaths across the state as of Tuesday. A jail employee attended that wedding.

This story will be updated.

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