Maine CDC Investigating Coronavirus Outbreak in the Houlton
Aroostook County reported 17 confirmed cases Sunday. There were 11 cases as of Saturday.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said they are investigating a coronavirus outbreak in the Houlton area involving seven people.
Four confirmed cases are members of the Houlton Ambulance Service, said the Maine CDC.
On June 13, the Houlton Ambulance Service took a patient to Houlton Regional Hospital for reasons not related to the coronavirus. The Maine CDC said the patient did not display any symptoms of COVID-19. Another EMS team from Houlton took the same patient to Northern Light Health in Bangor the next day where the patient tested positive.
All four EMS members from the two teams are confirmed cases, said the CDC. Two more people with close contact to EMS or the patient also tested positive for the virus.
The effected individuals are isolating, and there’s more testing for close contacts individuals, said officials who advise anyone who had contact with the EMS teams since June 8 should call the hospital for testing.
The investigation is ongoing into the source.
The CEO of Houlton Regional Hospital, Shawn Anderson, said June 20, “we are experiencing a heightened level of concern that additional confirmed cases from this region of the State will be announced in the near future.”
Read the Facebook post from Houlton Regional Hospital, June 20:
Confirmed cases in state are listed by zip codes (see below). Information by county, hospitalizations & test numbers are also listed below.