IDEXX testing partnership is 'game changer' for state's reopening plan

Photo / Tim Greenway Steve Hewins, executive director of HospitalityMaine, said the lodging and restaurant industries are at a "pivotal point" as the state prepares to reopen its economy.

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By Maureen Milliken

A partnership with IDEXX tripling the state's ability to test for coronavirus means the four-phase plan to reopen Maine businesses can be adjusted, Gov. Janet Mills said Thursday.

"This changes everything," Mills said at Thursday's news conference announcing the partnership with Westbrook-based IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: IDXX). The ability to test more people for the coronavirus will allow the state to better assess the risk the disease poses in Maine, and therefore better plan for reopening businesses.

"The expansion of testing is crucial to our gradually restarting of the economy," she said. "As a result of the new testing capacity, we do expect to update the plan to restart Maine's economy very soon." Mills and Nirav Shah, director of Maine CDC, both said the news is a "game changer" for the state's COVID-19 response.

While Mills said she couldn't offer specifics on reopening changes, "we'll be able to make some announcements shortly."

Hospitality at pivotal point

With the key summer season fast approaching, the Mills administration has been under increasing pressure, particularly from owners of businesses in the hospitality industry.

"We are at a pivotal point right now," Steve Hewins, CEO of Hospitality Maine, told Mainebiz in an interview that took place before the testing increase was announced. "There's a lot of angst."

He said that the organization, which has more than 1,000 members in the restaurant and lodging industries, is working with members on how to safely open with the time comes. He said that industry members have also been working with the Mills administration on how and when to best open.

"There are a lot of dynamics involved to going forward, and people are anxious to start the process," he said.

The businesses "have to get it right" in order to safely deal with customers. But he also said that both industries have high cleanliness, sanitary and safety standards, so there are already tools, and a mindset, in place for that. He said it requires focused attention to detail.

The restaurant and lodging industries generate $3.6 billion a year for the state, according to the Maine Office of Tourism. The industry employees more than 110,000 people, which accounts for 16% of the state's workforce. About half of Maine's visitors come during the summer months. Out-of-state visitors spend an average of three or four nights in Maine.

'Not a cocoon'

One issue of major concern to businesses, particularly the lodging industry, is the requirement that out-of-state visitors quarantine for two weeks, something those who own hotels, inns and bed-and-breakfasts say isn't realistic.

Hewins said his organization and others in the industry are working with the state on how to deal with the dilemma.

Mills said Wednesday that her administration is "looking every day to see if there’s some way around it."

But she also stressed that Massachusetts, where many of the state's visitors come from, has more than 17,000 COVID-19 cases, and 252 people died on one day last week.

"We're not looking at Maine as some sort of cocoon," she said. "I'd love have people come, but this year, right now, they may be coming and bringing the virus, and it may result in some of the most godawful consequences not only for our communities, but our economy as well."

At Thursday's news conference, Mills also said the quarantine is continuously being looked at, and that she met with representatives of the hospitality industry Wednesday to discuss their reopening.

Phase 2 of the plan, which is slated to start June 1, maintains the quarantine. It allows restaurants to open, as well as lodging for Maine residents only, and nothing with a capacity of more than 50. Checklists business must fill out to show they've taken required safety measures are available on the Department of Economic and Community Development webpage.

At Wednesday's news conference, DECD Commissioner Heather Johnson said that one reason hair salons and barber shops were allowed to open during Phase 1, which began Monday, is because it's an industry already focused on sanitary measures, and also one that generally draws customers from nearby. Most are also owner-operated, which means a closer eye on what's going on and decisions regarding it.

"So when you layer on different protocols, it's easy to manage," she said.

She said that her department, which is facilitating the reopening plan, has engaged with industries, rather than specific businesses.

"Different sectors have come to us with ideas about how they can open up again, how they can do business and keep their customers and staff safe,":she said. Her office has is sorting through more than 3,000 requests to open, she added.

Four parts of the puzzle

When Mills announced the reopening plan April 28, she underscored that the plan is subject to adjustments, whether it's an an acceleration prompted by innovation and greater testing capacity, or a return to more restrictions because of a surge in COVID-19.

Mills reiterated that at a Thursday news conference. "As I said, the four principles of us gradually safely opening our economy include protecting the public health, maintaining health care readiness, building reliable and accessible testing and prioritizing public-private collaboration.

"We're now doing all of those four things," she said. "We're addressing all four parts of the puzzle here in moving our economy forward, and we will be able to adjust our expectations, adjust our timelines and our protocols accordingly."

Mills said the state has been working with IDEXX on providing tests for the past month. The state is buying enough tests from IDEXX to run 5,000 tests a week. The $760,000 for the tests comes from federal CARES Act money. She said the new testing platform may be operational as early as next week.

While the additional testing will mean more cases in the state, Nirav Shah, director of Maine CDC, said the more significant statistic is the "positivity rate" — the amount of positive tests compared to overall tests. That rate is an important statistic in gauging the spread of COVID-19 in the state, which is guiding re-opening plans, state and health officials said.

The increase in testing allows health care facilities to test patients, and will allow anyone in the state suspected of having COVID-19 to be tested, and increase testing in congregant care homes and more.

'Better and stronger'

Mills was buoyant about the announcement, a distinct change from the tense news conference of the day before when she announced formation of an Economic Recovery Committee to look at mitigating the long-term economic effects the pandemic will have on the state. On Wednesday, she fielded questions from reporters about the increasing frustrations of businesses that wanted a faster and more solid plan to reopen, and said it was being worked on, but had no specifics.

Thursday's news was a positive step toward that, she said.

"I know for some this may not be a big deal," she said. "And lord knows, if you'd told me a year ago I'd get a little emotional about a new diagnostic test for some strange and novel virus, I would've thought that was pretty odd." But she stressed, "This is very good news."

Hewins, who wasn't immediately available Friday to comment on the possible alteration in the plan, told Mainebiz last week that despite the tough economic situation, said the state's hospitality industry is resilient.

"I am amazed at how tough people are," he said. "How adaptable they are. They have to be, in this industry, they're always the first to be impacted.

"But Maine's been doing hospitality for 150 years, we've been doing it for a long, and we can get past this because of that," he said. "Will everyone make it? Probably not, but the ones who have will be better and stronger for it."