Sanford Covid-19 Update 9/22

At his regular press briefing on Tuesday, September 22, Dr. Nirav Shah of Maine CDC devoted considerable time to discussing the Covid-19 outbreaks here. Dr. Shah said he is “deeply concerned about Sanford,” adding that virtually every aspect of life in our community is being affected by the outbreaks.

He announced one new outbreak in Sanford, at the Wolves Club. Five patrons and one staff member have tested positive there. The outbreak at the Baker Company now includes seven cases.

Dr. Shah said the 12 cases of Covid-19 related to Sanford High School and the Sanford Regional Technical Center represent the first outbreak in the state at a public school. Gatherings that occurred outside of the school setting are believed to be potential routes of viral transmission. Two gatherings the CDC is investigating are a pickup football game that took place on September 16, and a sunrise gathering of seniors around the same time.

The total number of cases in that outbreak has since been updated to 13 cases, of which 11 are at SHS and two at SRTC. The CDC is not releasing the breakdown of numbers of students and staff included in the outbreak.

Dr. Shah also said epidemiologists believe the outbreaks at Sanford and Springvale social clubs are linked, and are now trying to determine how many people visited multiple clubs, carrying the virus with them.

Exponential growth of the virus is the major concern. “The number of new cases seems small, but if left unaddressed, can quickly get out of hand and lead to a massive outbreak,” he said.

An outbreak of three cases at Hussey Seating in North Berwick has also been identified. It is not yet known whether those cases are among Sanford residents, of if there is any connection to the Sanford outbreaks.

You can watch the full press briefing here.