PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised quarantine for about 100 people because of exposure to the coronavirus, the agency’s head said Monday.
The number is fluctuating, and other individuals in the state have been advised to quarantine by employers, Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah said. Cases of the virus are growing in different parts of the state, with evidence of community transmission, and two people have been hospitalized, he said.
The state’s first case of a child testing positive for the virus involved a student from Cape Elizabeth Middle School. The student is doing well and recovering at home, school district officials said.
Shah reiterated a statement from Gov. Janet Mills for Mainers to avoid large gatherings and take precautions, but also remember to help their neighbors.
“While many aspects of our lives here in Maine will be postponed or suspended, we must not suspend our caring of one another,” Shah said.
For most people, the coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, results in only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death. The vast majority of people recover.
Shah said there were 17 confirmed or presumptive cases of the virus in the state Monday. That as an increase of five from the previous day.
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