McCleary MRSA Prevention

I read in the Bangor Daily News today that Pastor Todd Bell’s lawyers claim there have been death threats against him.  That is outrageous, and unacceptable. There is never any place for death threats.  It must stop.

https://bangordailynews.com/2020/09/09/news/york/sanford-pastor-connected-to-coronavirus-outbreak-getting-death-threats-lawyers-say/?fbclid=IwAR1vnhdAZMxWpTDn0d1J1JubSzcUqD0c9zQ4bwvRYMZBZw-jzxgguKSQnyM

However, COVID 19 threatens death to vulnerable people every day.  Even otherwise healthy young people have died of COVID 19.  It is very contagious, and it can be deadly. That is exactly the reason that most of us have altered our lives so much over the past 6 months.  We can’t hire lawyers to protect our lives from COVID. We just have to follow some pretty simple life saving rules.

I remember the first rumblings about COVID.  I went to Sam’s Club and a woman ahead of me was scrubbing off the handle to the shopping cart.  I use to walk by those wipes in stores, and just cleaned my hands when I got home.  That day was different. I felt a startling shift in the need to do such things, religiously. I told that lady, “that is a great idea” and I scrubbed the shopping cart handle. AND I washed my hands when I got home.

It wasn’t long after my Sam’s club visit, that all hell broke loose.  The cases went from 1 case and Trump saying it was a hoax, to now about 6,000,000 cases and 200,000 deaths.  We had blissful days in Maine while Seattle was exploding with COVID.  Maine didn’t see any cases for quite a while.  But, we knew it was coming….

Then we got our first case, and our second. etc.  Then we had our first death and our second, etc.  But, all things considered, Maine has done very well to stem the spread of COVID.  That was until a Pastor Todd Bell joined with other science deniers and rule breakers to officiate a wedding in Millinocket, Maine, my home town.  That was the start of the largest COVID 19 outbreak in Maine, and it keeps growing.

Less than a week after the August 7 wedding I started hearing some things about an outbreak up home. We are one month and 2 days out from that wedding, and now about 160 people, possibly more have been affected.   3 people have died, none of them attended the wedding.  They were secondary or tertiary contacts.  Others have been hospitalized.  And fortunately many have managed their illness at home.  This story has not ended.

Unless Todd Bell has been living under a rock, (and we KNOW he hasn’t because he thrives on attention) , he has seen,  heard and read about the havoc that wedding caused in our State.  He has been educated and warned by State officials about what is expected of Churches AND schools in this state, under executive orders from our Governor.  The rules are for ALL churches and his isn’t excluded.   Those orders are to protect each and every Mainer, including Pastor Bell and his flock.  Yet, he defiantly holds church services, without masks or distancing.  He did this knowing that his own personal church outbreak had doubled last week from 5 to 10 victims.  His choir, crowded in the front of the church without masks, sings hymns.  Singing is known to spread COVID droplets efficiently, especially when no masks are worn.

What will it take to bring this pastor into compliance?  Will it take a death in his own Church?  Will they have to cough, and choke and collapse right in front of him?  Will he go to them to help or will he stand back because he knows they have COVID?  Will he pray over them?  I don’t know that he has prayed for the others who have died, or their survivors, or all of the other people he has left in his path.

He has publicly scoffed at the executive orders of the State of Maine.  He has laughed at all of us.

Pastor Todd Bell’s actions threaten the lives of his flock. So, could his actions be considered a “death threat”?   Members of  his flock leave that church and go back into the community to their homes, jobs, stores, and other public places.  My guess is that most of them don’t wear masks.  That is a clear display of their selfishness and disregard for others and preventative rules. They have likely learned well from their  science defying pastor.

Should they be allowed to continue this defiance and spread of disease?  I don’t think so.  I think they have been handled with diplomacy, education, warnings, and fairness long enough.  I think they have wreaked enough havoc on our State. I think it is time to shut them down.

But, certainly not with death threats.

This is Blog #3 about the my home town Millinocket , Maine’s  growing and reproducing COVID 19 outbreak.  My heart breaks for the people up home and all of their families.  I am frustrated, but at the same time I want to be fair.

In my last blog, I mentioned a suspect  pastor.  I really wonder about his compliance with COVID preventative steps and seemingly  cavalier attitude about the outbreak from the wedding where he officiated.

I came up with a list of fair questions for him and for all of the other guests and venue workers who attended this wedding, which in turn became a super spreader event.  Granted some of these questions perhaps only the State officials could answer.

1. Were you tested?  Was every other guest and venue worker tested?

2. Were you asked to quarantine for 14 days because of your close and lengthy contact with someone who became sick with COVID?

3. Were you told that a negative test does not mean that you can come out of a 14 day quarantine?

4. Did you quarantine for 14 days from time of contact (Wedding Day)?

5. How long were you asked/required to quarantine if you tested positive or became ill with COVID?      ie. was your quarantine extended and did you comply?

6. Did your household or Church members also become ill?

7. Was the difference between quarantine and isolation explained to you  and did you observe the rules and differences? Information below

I think I find a lot of the answers right here in this Bangor Daily News article that was just sent to me today, but it is not fair to make assumptions.

Still, I fear that we have a Public Health menace in our midst.

https://bangordailynews.com/2020/08/29/news/york/5-people-associated-with-a-sanford-church-have-tested-positive-for-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1KlTFkrRoogtaNbArtOc48IAGw8stetD4ZclZ72o6TND6ripstt1hg-f0

If these folks from the wedding did not know about their exposure for 5 days or a week, then nobody can fault them for what they did during that time.  If however they continued to gallivant around the town, State or country after being told to quarantine, that is a different story.

There is still a lot we don’t know about the movements of the wedding party, guests and venue workers.  All of us are angry and sad about this.  But, someday we will need to heal, and getting answers is part of that. It’s hard to get past that they ignored a lot preventative rules for the wedding church and venue.  If they continued that careless attitude after learning there was an outbreak, then they need to be accountable to the State of Maine and to all of the people impacted.

The only online conversation by the bridal party that I have seen told me a lot.  They talked about how unfair the media is and how they are like vultures, how persecuted they feel,  how they already had to postpone their wedding once and how they whittled down the guest list.   Some other pretty dismissive comments were made about the outbreak like how it was just like a mild cold or most people don’t even get sick.

They did not mention the poor lady who died, or others who were very sick or mention any feelings/emotions about that.  It would be my extreme pleasure to sit down with the young women who conducted this conversation and give them some lessons on COVID and life in general.  We all have to grow up some time.  And for these girls, now would be a great time for that.

I would like to see one representative from wedding group, come forward.  I would like to hear their side of things, like some answers to the questions I have listed above.  I’d also like to learn about what they are going to change in their own behavior, both personal and professional, to keep this from happening again.  Maybe the pastor could tell us how he will mandate masks at his services, and how he will wear one himself, and offer hand sanitizer, and how he will require members of his flock to sit 6 feet apart.  He could explain how much cleaning and disinfecting he is doing in his Church.  He could tell us how he is educating his flock to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

But most of all, these folks could say something, anything about how bad they feel for the deceased, her family, the others who needed to be hospitalized, and all of the other people who became very sick at home.   They could also apologize to my home town for their carelessness.  And they could offer prayers or some other kind of compassion for all of them.

I don’t think it is too much to ask for .  124 people in this state spread out over many miles,  have been impacted by this single event. Thousands of others around the infected victims have also had their lives altered because of them.   Someone needs to answer some questions.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-quarantine-and-isolation/art-20484503

“These terms describe approaches for limiting the spread of disease during epidemics and pandemics:

• Social distancing. Keeping space between yourself and other people outside your household to prevent the spread of disease.
• Quarantine. Separating people and limiting movement of people who have or may have been exposed to the disease to see if they become ill.
• Isolation. Separating people who are ill from others who are not ill to keep the disease from spreading”.

Information below from the CDC.

Rules for Quarantine

Jul 22, 2020

When can I stop home isolation after a confirmed case of COVID-19?

If you are a healthcare provider, please follow your supervisor’s recommendations. If you are immunocompromised, please discuss this with your medical provider. Otherwise, if you will not have a test to determine if you are still contagious (most people will not) you can discontinue isolation when:

1. You have had NO fevers for at least 72 hours (3 full days of no fever without using fever-reducing medicine)
2. Other symptoms have improved (i.e., your cough or breathing have improved)
3. At least 10 days have passed since symptom onset

If you had a positive COVID-19 test AND have remained asymptomatic, you may discontinue isolation when at least 10 days have passed since your first positive COVID-19 test. It is important to still wear a face cover over your nose and mouth in public settings after isolation is discontinued.

https://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Portal%20News&id=3198521&v=article-2017&fbclid=IwAR18BFK6tl-GUiTvZsG6xlYkwNILWlf6CNSBL6opIWHLr5YkrgbGfsp1gJg

Millinocket facing Mount Katahdin

Preface:  I love my beautiful hometown.  I liked it better when we all talked more about the beauty of the region, good times, the resilience, integrity and warmth of  the citizens,  instead of COVID.  We will all work really hard to make it that way again.

My previous blog was about the ongoing heart breaking tragedy in my hometown, Millinocket, Maine. My town  is in the midst of a growing  COVID 19 outbreak.

On August 7, a young couple were married at the Tri Town Baptist Church in East Millinocket, ME. Then they moved the gathering to the Big Moose Inn on Millinocket Lake about 15 miles away.  This should have been a fun, beautiful celebration. The  happy couple, their families and guests should have been able to enjoy this special occasion without a care in the world.  Party on…right?

Wrong, there is a COVID 19 pandemic.

Churches and reception venues are under strict State preventative guidance and regulations.  Safe happy celebrations are possible, but unfortunately, they all must be done with special hygienic precautions in mind.  Nobody likes this, and nobody wants to put this cloud over any celebration, but this is life right now. Lives literally depend on everyone following rules.  Deniers of science, and defiance because of God given “rights” to gather and assemble can and will cause very serious problems for people around and with them, and in this case, far beyond. Every single one of us has a responsibility to not only keep ourselves safe, but to also keep everyone around us safe.  We all have this huge responsibility for each other.

According to witnesses, rules were broken.  Distancing, face masks, and  and other mandated precautions were not consistently followed.  The State rule is that 50, NOT 65, people or fewer are allowed for inside gatherings at any venue.  The reception venue was cited and warned, but it remains open.  There has been no citation for the Church, yet.

As a result of this celebration, 60 people in the Millinocket region have been infected, one woman has died, and 2 others have been hospitalized.  Beyond Millinocket, there have been 2 related satellite outbreaks, one in at the York, County Sheriffs department (18 victims) and one at a nursing home in Madison (6 victims).  There are primary, secondary and tertiary cases. I don’t know what they are called beyond that even though I am an RN and a certified COVID contact tracer.    I really don’t want to think about “beyond that”.

So, from one person, a wedding guest, who was sick the day after the wedding, several more became ill by the 4th day after the wedding and now, 2.5 weeks later, there are at least 84 people infected if I have calculated this correctly.  And it won’t stop there.

I am sad for every single one of those infected.  The suffering and fear must be overwhelming.

Consider this. If the celebrating guests followed just one of the rules, like wearing masks ,could all of this suffering have been avoided. Certainly a talented seamstress could have made some snazzy wedding masks.   We will never know, but my guess is that YES, it could have prevented this.  In fact, I believe that if ALL the mandates had been followed that this outbreak was 100% preventable.

There was no evil intent in what has happened ‘up home’. There was irresponsibility and selfishness. However, some things that are emerging from this disaster are enraging.  Others are heartbreaking.   I have spent the past week talking with friends and family from home.  I have absorbed their fear, pain, and frustration.  One person in particular has suffered immeasurable worry and pain.  Two of his relatives have been infected and the results tragic. At the same time he is obligated to be in a different state because his business was impacted because of COVID.  I can’t imagine the pain or frustration.  An he and his family is just one of the many who are hurting.  I am working very hard to encourage all of these people, who have been so horribly affected, to share their stories with all of us through reporters and social media.  Their stories teach us all things about keeping ourselves and our own family’s safe.

All of the above information was found on his personal FB page (now purged)  and /or his school’s  and church’s webpage (some information still exists).

Going forward we need to use the philosophy of lessons learned, lessons taught. Every single one of us has to take what we have learned from this outbreak, and use it to be responsible for our own, and our community’s safety.   We will all be happy to see this pandemic behind us so we can have a change of subject.  We can talk about the beauty around us, and awesome people again.  Most of that is still around us.

https://bangordailynews.com/2020/08/29/news/how-a-single-wedding-changed-the-complexion-of-maines-coronavirus-outbreak/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-maine-wedding-covid-outbreak-jail-indoor-reception-millinocket/

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/25/metro/millinocket-maine-wedding-covid-19-outbreak-linked-clusters-nursing-home-jail/

https://www.facebook.com/calvarybaptistmaine  demonstrates how busy Rev Bell was for 2 weeks after his exposure

https://wgme.com/news/local/two-maine-school-closed-due-to-flu