According to the Maine CDC, there have been as of today 344 cases of COVID-19 (up 41 cases since yesterday) and a case has been detected in Hancock County, bringing the number of counties affected to 13 (though we should assume there is virus in every county). Community spread is present in York and Cumberland Counties, where cases are the highest. The number of healthcare workers infected remains at 43. Since the onset of testing 63 people have been hospitalized, and 80 people have recovered. Two more people have died from COVID-19, both women in their 80s who were hospitalized, bringing the total to 7 deaths. A second positive case at the Oxford homeless shelter has been detected. Authorities have been working to identify potential spread at that shelter.
Testing
Maine CDC has supplies to test another 4000 people at present, and there have been 8400 negative tests so far. As mentioned yesterday, there is a new FDA-approved (Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)) rapid test (taking less than 15 minutes) being manufactured by Abbott Laboratories (based in Illinois with production in Scarborough, ME). This test will be used in the existing Abbott ID NOW device, a small piece of medical equipment about the size of a toaster. The availability of a rapid test will be helpful in reducing the amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) used by medical personnel. Dr. Nirav Shah today noted that this week we received our third and final distribution of PPE from the Strategic National Stockpile.
To that end, Maine will be taking possession of 15 Abbott Laboratories ID Now devices, 100 test kits, each able to perform 24 tests, therefore 2400 tests. Several labs around the state also have these machines, which were designed for rapid diagnosis of other diseases. As noted yesterday, Abbott can produce 50,000 test kits daily, though as below, it sounds as though the majority will not be allocated for Maine. Miles White, the outgoing CEO of Abbott, told CNBC on March 30, 2020 that in addition to the rapid tests, more tests are coming. “There’s still more, and there’s a need for more. We have a collection of technologies and formats, we’ve got multiple R&D teams at work. There are more tests coming, there are serology tests, antibody tests, we’re looking at automated versions of that…all of those are a matter of weeks to a couple of months away. Those teams are working around the clock…” They are also reportedly working on ramping up production to much higher numbers of tests daily. “For a while we’ll be allocating and prioritizing to high need areas.”
Vital resources
More and more hospitals are reporting to Maine CDC, and the numbers of vital resources are going up:
- 272 ICU beds, 124 available
- 348 ventilators, 271 available
- Alternative ventilators, approximately 128 available
Stay at home orders
Multiple governors around the country have instituted stay at home orders in the last few days. These orders are an effort to contain the outbreak in local communities, to prevent deaths, and to prevent an overwhelming surge of cases in hospitals and healthcare systems during this most severe pandemic the world has seen in the last 100 years. I have read that some Mainers feel it is too soon to execute such an order. However, in medicine and epidemiology we know that this is precisely the time to act. And, we know that the numbers of seriously ill people with COVID-19 we are seeing today are people who contracted the disease an average of five days ago. Right now there are likely many more people who are infected but not yet showing signs of disease. There are also likely many asymptomatic carriers who are capable of spreading disease. Some experts have documented high levels of virus in the nasopharynx of people with no symptoms at all.
As an epidemic like this grows, it does so in an exponential fashion. For more on this please read my COVID-19 questions post. Looking at national trends on March 29, 2020 Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN’s State of the Union audience that this pandemic could kill 100,000 to 200,000 Americans and infect millions. Many different authorities are making projections, and many are keeping track of the rapid spread of this pandemic. As it stands now Johns Hopkins notes that there are 190,740 cases in the U.S. We are unfortunately the country with the highest number of reported cases worldwide. Johns Hopkins further indicates a total number of positive tests worldwide of 887,067, with 44,264 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Some cities such as New York and New Orleans are being particularly hard hit. Stay at home orders and social distancing should be taken very seriously.
Conclusion
Check the home page for links to other useful sites on the web. Know that people all over the world are working on this, and advances are happening daily. This is what science is for. And, caring for patients and constantly trying to improve how we do that is what doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers are trained to do. We are not going to stop.
Please safely check on someone who might be isolated. Use social distancing, a telephone, texting, whatever works to say that you care. We need to stay connected in the ways that we can. Think about checking in on all of your loved ones. They might not be as strong as they seem. None of us has ever faced a worldwide crisis like this.
Also, please keep up routines and sleep/wake schedule. Make sure you move your body in a healthy way daily with exercise, stretching, and other activities you enjoy.
Finally, I know many of these posts are about frightening topics. Try to also focus on something happy, meaningful, or beautiful to you. There is a reason we have poets, novelists, artists, and musicians. They center us, they bring us peace. Know too that if you or someone you know is in a states of crisis, there is still help. Call your doctor’s office or call the Maine Crisis Hotline at 1-888-568-1112.
