Today the Maine CDC is reporting a total of 1816 cases of COVID-19 among state residents since testing began on March 12, 2020. The total numbers now include not just confirmed tests, but 187 probable cases (essentially those with close contact to a confirmed case who have syndrome consistent with COVID-19). Tests are not used on these patients unless they become ill enough for hospital admission. Meanwhile, the overall increase in numbers is also in part due to a policy of testing all staff and residents of congregate living facilities where outbreaks occur (three or more cases). In these cases it is likely that asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic cases will be detected, thus increasing the numbers or positive tests in a way that would not have been possible prior to the policy. This policy of mass testing is meant to limit spread within facilities where more vulnerable people are living. We don’t have to look far in the news to understand why that is a good idea. Congregate facilities are not the only groups that are now being mass-tested, as outbreaks have occurred at a food processing plant, a construction company, an apartment building, and a jail.
The total number of Maine healthcare workers with COVID-19 since testing began has risen to 417, (23% of the total number of cases).
To date, there have been 40,609 tests conducted in the state. Note that this number is not the total number of people tested, but the total number of tests conducted. The number is different because in some instances, such as when a person under interest (PUI) has a condition that looks convincingly like COVID-19, the initial test might come back negative. This means a second test may be necessary, especially if that person is hospitalized or in a high-risk situation. It is also typical that a person who is hospitalized with a positive test result will in turn require a negative test result to lessen the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by staff taking care of them during hospitalization, or before discharge of the patient to home or rehab.
In Maine 231 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 since testing began, and 40 are currently hospitalized, with 12 currently intubated and on a breathing machine (a ventilator). The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 currently stands at 73, with an average of one death per day in the last three weeks.
The current number of active cases in the state stands at 633, up by 148 cases since I discussed these numbers on April 27. As above however, the growth in numbers is measured differently now, and the comparison is thus unequal. The state is casting a wider net, there have been new outbreaks, and the numbers are therefore higher. Because of all of this testing, we had 75 new cases today. In the last three weeks the average number of new cases per day has been 40.
Among those positive tests to date, the state has used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on 37,725 tests. This is a form of amplification of viral genetic material. It is only positive if the virus is present in the sample taken from the patient (usually a nasal swab). The state has also used antibody testing for 2,884 tests. Antibodies are evidence that our body has either and active or a past infection with the virus.
The state has increased testing capacity due to a partnership with IDEXX in Scarborough. The IDEXX PCR Test Kit allows Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL) to process up to 1000 tests per day. This means that HETL is now taking specimens ordered by a physician for any person who has one or more symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or any person who may be at risk for spreading COVID-19. This could include asymptomatic close contacts of confirmed cases from an outbreak setting, asymptomatic health care workers who have had contact with or exposure to a confirmed case, or asymptomatic people tested as part of a sentinel COVID-19 disease surveillance program by the Maine CDC.
The expanded testing means that in the last week Maine has tripled its daily testing capacity. That is a good thing. But take a moment to consider what this really means. We have still tested less than 3% of the population of our state. Maine had in 2019 1,344,212 citizens. If we tried to test everyone at a rate of 1000 tests per day, it would still take over three and a half years. We need a lot more testing. Alternatively, we need a vaccine, much more effective treatments, or preventives that work.
More to come. Until then, be patient, don’t listen to pseudo-science, and stay out of trouble.
