People who traveled through the largest airport in Maine this weekend might have been exposed to coronavirus, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. The Maine CDC said an individual with the virus and a close contact of the individual went to Portland International Jetport on Sunday. People who were at the jetport between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday might have been exposed, the agency said.
The person who came to the airport had tested positive last week and had been directed to isolate, and the person’s close contacts were directed to quarantine, Maine CDC said. The person had intended to fly to Florida, but chose not to board the aircraft after communication with Maine CDC staff, the agency said.
The person with the virus has returned to isolation, and their close contact has returned to quarantine, the Maine CDC said.
In other news related to the pandemic in Maine:
The Numbers
Another 29 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the state, the Maine Center for Disease Control said Monday.
That brings the total number of confirmed cases to more than 5,100, the Maine CDC said. The number of deaths grew by one to 140.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
School Closure
A pair of schools in southern Maine that are near a growing number of coronavirus outbreaks is transitioning to a fully remote model because of a handful of virus cases.
Sanford High School and Sanford Regional Technical Center have had at least three cases of the coronavirus, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The schools are in York County, the home of an outbreak at the York County jail that is tied to a larger outbreak of coronavirus stemming from a northern Maine wedding and reception. The wedding outbreak is linked to more than 270 cases and eight deaths in total.
Sanford Superintendent Matt Nelson said in a letter to the community that the schools will be in remote mode for at least two weeks. He said the facility had a case last week and another two over the weekend.
The schools had been operating in a hybrid model of remotely learning and in-person attendance.