85 cases of COVID-19 now linked to Millinocket wedding, Maine CDC says

AUGUSTA, Maine (WMTW)

A coronavirus outbreak that started at a wedding in Millinocket has led to two more outbreaks across the state, including one at the York County Jail.

The jail is more than 200 miles away from the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket, where the wedding reception was held.

Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said a staff member at the jail attended the wedding on Aug. 7. That person was one of the first cases of COVID-19 at the jail. Since then, there have been 18 cases of coronavirus at the facility: seven are inmates, nine are jail staff, and two are employees within York County government, Shah said.

The outbreak associated with the Millinocket wedding has led to 85 cases of COVID-19. The Maine CDC announced Wednesday the cases from the York County Jail outbreak can officially be tied to the wedding after an epidemiological investigation. Thirty-two of those cases are primary or people who attended the wedding, 32 are secondary or people who had close contact with those who attended, and 20 are classified as tertiary cases or people who had close contact with a secondary case.

According to CDC investigators, it was "not commonplace" for people to be wearing masks at the wedding, Shah said.

Shah also said the Millinocket wedding outbreak has led to another outbreak at the Maplecrest Rehabilitation Center in Madison. Four residents and two staff at that facility have tested positive for COVID-19, Shah said. Those six cases are factored in to the 60 cases from Millinocket, Shah said.

Shah noted that the outbreaks in York County and Madison show just how quickly and far the virus can spread in a short amount of time.