As Virus Spreads In Rural Waldo County, Residents Say It Could’ve Been Prevented

BELFAST, Maine — Waldo County is largely rural, the kind of place where residents — even those who live in towns and its single city — often have backyards and enough room to spread out and comfortably distance. Despite that, folks here are grappling with the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak connected to the Brooks Pentecostal Church. On Tuesday, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention linked at least 42 cases to the church — four are connected to local public schools and another to Bayview Manor in Searsport, where a worker at the residential care facility tested positive. Many Waldo County residents are alarmed by the spike in numbers.