LincolnHealth’s COVID-19 case positivity rate increased to 16.53% from last week for the week of Aug. 8-14, according to Michelle Lunt, the hospital’s communications and public affairs manager.
From August 8 to 14, a total of 246 tests for COVID-19 were carried out, with 40 positive.
Community transmission, which is defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and describes the amount of COVID-19 spread in a community, is listed as “high.” This metric is used by healthcare facilities to determine infection control intervention, LincolnHealth spokesperson John Martins said.
The community level, which describes the impact of COVID-19 on communities, is low for Lincoln County.
Community levels are calculated using the number of new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population over the past seven days, the percentage of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and the total number of new COVID cases. -19 per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days. .
LincolnHealth offers the COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 6 months and older.
Call the MaineHealth Vaccine Assistant at 1-877-780-7545 or email vaccine@mainehealth.org for an appointment. An appointment is preferred and can be made by calling a Lincoln Medical Partners office or visiting vaccine.mainehealth.org.
MaineHealth maintains a database of COVID-19 information accessible at mainehealth.org/coronavirus-COVID-19/what-to-do.
The health system also recommends staying home if sick, testing for COVID-19 if showing symptoms or coming into contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive, and seeking treatment if needed.
According to data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention as of Tuesday August 16, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 6,155 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus – 5,170 confirmed and 985 probable cases.
The death toll among Lincoln County residents remained at 40.
Hospitalizations rose by one unit from last week to 90.
Lincoln County has a “moderate to high” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 population compared to other counties in the state at 231,942.60. The number does not represent fully vaccinated individuals, and since the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both require two doses, the number may be greater than 100,000.
Lincoln County census data provided by the Maine CDC lists a population of 34,634. Of those residents, 26,998, or 77.95%, received their first dose of vaccine and 27,664, or 79.88%, received the second and final dose, according to agency data.
A total of 80,331 doses of vaccine were administered, 173 doses more than last week. Those counted in the final dose category either received the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
There were 25,842 additional or booster shots given to Lincoln County residents.
According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, the seven-day average positivity rate for Maine is 8.37%, up from 8.23% last week.
State COVID-19 Numbers
Based on current data as of August 16, the Maine CDC has reported 279,644 cases of COVID-19 in Maine, an increase of 1,481 from the previous week. Of these cases, 78,002 are probable.
There have been 5,461 hospitalizations in the state, including 42 reported last week. There have been 2,496 COVID-19 deaths in Maine so far, including three reported in the past week. The statewide case rate is 2,089.4 per 10,000 people, up from 2,078.3 last week.