State officials announced a new $1 million federal grant that will provide behavioral health support to Maine people who have been exposed to the coronavirus and offer outreach to others who might be psychologically impacted by the pandemic’s disruption.

Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew said Wednesday that the grant comes as more people are reaching out for help. She said Maine’s Intentional Warm Line, a hotline that provides non-crisis support, has fielded more than 6,000 calls since March 30. That’s an increase of 40 percent, from 60 calls per day to 84 calls per day.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on not only people’s physical health, but also their mental health and emotional well-being,” Lambrew said.

The state reported 31 new cases of coronavirus Wednesday but no additional deaths. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has now tracked 2,637 cases – 2,350 confirmed by testing and 287 probable cases. The number of Maine deaths associated with COVID-19 remains at 100. Fifty-seven were Cumberland County residents, followed by Waldo County with 14 deaths and York County with 11.

There also were 31 additional people who had recovered as of Wednesday, bringing that total to 2,023. Active cases now stand at 514 and have been dropping steadily over the last few days, as have the number of hospitalizations. There have been 303 people hospitalized at some point and 27 currently, including 10 in intensive care and five on ventilators.

The daily average of new cases over the last 10 days is 31.2 cases, down from 44.8 per day during the previous 10-day period. On Monday and Tuesday, there were 18 cases each – the lowest daily totals since May 12. The decline also comes as the state has been offering more testing, although state health officials are closely monitoring whether the continued reopening of the economy and recent protests will lead to a spike in new cases. The state also anticipates more out-of-state visitors coming in as summer approaches, and this week offered an alternative to a 14-day quarantine mandate. If visitors test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of arriving in Maine, they will not have to quarantine.

Gov. Janet Mills announced Monday that she had extended her declaration of a state of civil emergency for another 30 days, through July 10. It was Mills’ third extension of the declaration, which enables Maine to continue tapping federal funds for coronavirus response, and quickly mobilize or shift state resources. Most other states also have emergency extensions in effect.

Maine CDC director Dr. Nirav Shah said Wednesday that it would be difficult to speculate on whether Maine might see a spike in cases, but he noted that other states, including California, Texas, Florida, Arizona and Utah, have all seen their numbers increase since Memorial Day. He said, in general, it would take anywhere from 5-20 days to see any spikes that might be attributable to specific public behavior.

Cumberland County accounts for about half of all cases, followed by York and Androscoggin counties. Combined, the three counties are home to 82 percent of Maine’s cases, but make up about 45 percent of the population.

Shah said there were no changes Wednesday with two new outbreaks the state is monitoring – one at Abbott Laboratories in Scarborough, which produces rapid COVID-19 tests, the other at Nichols Manufacturing in Portland. He said state officials are working closely with both businesses on contact tracing to see whether the virus might still be spreading.

Lambrew said Wednesday that although there have been positive downward trends associated with the coronavirus, she and her team have been concerned about some of the potential impacts. She said the new grant, from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will be used in three areas:

• Crisis counseling to individuals diagnosed with COVID-19, close contacts of those individuals and people living or working in an outbreak setting.

• Launching a public awareness campaign targeting those with pre-existing behavioral health conditions and those in high-risk jobs so that they can be mindful of warning signs and seek support.

• Supporting several of the state’s hotlines, including the Maine Frontline Warmline for first responders and health care workers, NAMI Maine’s Teen Text Support Line, and the Intentional Warm Line.

“There are immediate behavioral health impacts from this pandemic as well as potential long-term effects as people grapple with disruption, isolation, traumatic experiences, grief, and economic instability,” said Dr. Jessica Pollard, director of DHHS’ Office of Behavioral Health, in a written statement. “These funds will support our work to proactively help Maine people cope with this distress and support their health during the pandemic as well as when it is over.”

During his daily briefings, Shah shared news about two recent donations and offered thanks. The first was to the government of Taiwan, which reached out to Maine through its consulate to offer a donation of 35,000 N-95 masks for use by health care officials.

“These masks are critical to allowing health care workers across the state continue their work on the front lines,” he said.

Shah also thanked Professor Karen Houseknecht and the University of New England’s School of Pharmacy, who offered to make a solution that is used to fit test these N-95 masks. The production of that solution also is vital, Shah said, because the state had placed an order from a supplier back in February that was only recently filled more than three months later.

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