AUBURN — Maine Health officials reported Thursday that six more cases of COVID-19 have been associated with the Tambrands plant on Hotel Road.

The Procter & Gamble facility underwent universal testing after the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention investigated an outbreak in May.

Earlier this week, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said the plant had seven confirmed cases.

But on Thursday, he said an additional six cases — including one staff member and five contractors that visited the facility — had tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of cases to 13.

Patrick Blair, a spokesman for Procter & Gamble, said Thursday the other seven cases that had been reported earlier have fully recovered and have returned to work.

Blair said the company planned “to continue our robust safety protocols, as we have all along. The partnership with the CDC has been productive, and we’re grateful for their engagement.”

Shah said Thursday that his agency is working with representatives at the facility to determine what sort of testing protocols should be adopted going forward.

“Will it be targeted testing and for individuals who may be new to the facility?” Shah asked. “Will it be only for individuals who are showing symptoms? Will it be just a subsample of individuals? That’s the conversation we’re having with not just this facility, but my counterparts are having with worksites across the country right now.”

Blair said the company has 365 workers at the site and about 110 contractors that fluctuate in numbers based on demand.

“Our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of our colleagues. With guidance from medical professionals, we’re constantly evaluating and updating the robust measures already in place to help our people stay safe at work, regardless of whether they are working at home or making, packing and shipping P&G products at our sites,” Blair said in a written statement.

“This includes temperature scans, shift rotations, queueing avoidance, physical distancing, and wearing of masks. We’re performing comprehensive, methodical cleaning of all production areas, including regular sanitization and surface disinfection that exceeds the most rigorous health authority standards.” he said.

The Auburn plant is the only one of the company’s facilities that produces Tampax products for the United States and Canada, with exports to Asia and Europe. Tampax is the worldwide market leader in the tampon industry, according to company data.

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