As of 11 a.m. Monday, March 16, eight Maine residents have been confirmed positive and nine others are presumed positive for the coronavirus, according to the state. Click here for the latest coronavirus news, which the BDN has made free for the public. You can support this mission by purchasing a digital subscription.

There are now eight confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Maine, while another nine people are likely to have it, state health officials said Monday.





The latest cases — one confirmed and four likely — include two women in their 60s and 80s and a man in his 70s in Cumberland County, a man in his 30s in Knox County, and another man in his 40s in Lincoln County, Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday at a press conference

Of the 17 cases, 13 have been reported in Cumberland County, two in Lincoln County, one in Knox County and one in Androscoggin County, Shah said.

“Consistent with the trend we have seen in other parts of New England and the Northeast, we expect to see the number of these cases to increase and standby ready to assist all of those who are affected,” Shah said.

Shah said that another 764 Maine residents have tested negative for the coronavirus, known as COVD-19. Those tests have been performed at the Maine State Laboratory in Augusta, commercial labs and at MaineHealth.

That comes as more than 100 people in the state have been quarantined or are in self-isolation due to the coronavirus. The number is fluid as new test results roll in, a Maine CDC spokesman said Monday morning.

State health officials have said the latest cases haven’t involved people who have traveled abroad, but are likely the result of “community spread.”

Previous cases were announced on Thursday, when health officials said a Navy reservist in her 50s from Androscoggin County has tested likely positive, and on Friday, when a Portland city employee in his 50s who tested likely positive, leading to the closure of city buildings, including City Hall, for two weeks. Both are in self-isolation, as are another 30 people who came into contact with the Portland worker.

A male in his 80s who is a resident at Oceanview in Falmouth, a senior living community, has tested positive. A Cumberland County woman in her 70s is isolated at home. Health officials did not say if she is related to the man at Oceanview.

A Lincoln County health care worker in her 30s is isolated at home. Her employer has been contacted and steps are being taken to reduce exposure to patients, staff and other community members. Another man in his 40s has tested likely positive.

On Monday, officials confirmed that a 12-year-old boy from Cape Elizabeth became the first Maine child to test positive for the virus.

On Sunday, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills declared a civil emergency for the next 30 days as the state ramps up its efforts to contain the virus’ spread. Mills asked that schools suspend in-person classes, as many — including Thomas and Colby colleges in Waterville, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, and the University of Maine System’s seven campuses — have already done.

Nationally, at least 1,629 people in 46 states and the District of Columbia have been sickened by the coronavirus, while at least 41 have died as a result of infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Watch: Symptoms of the coronavirus disease