COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine are increasing, bed capacity is closely monitored

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine hit a new record on Friday, but updated daily case totals were not available because the state lab that processes the tests was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

As of Friday, 119 people were hospitalized for COVID-19, an increase of 14 from the previous day, including 51 in intensive care and 15 on a ventilator. This time last month, only 11 people were hospitalized, none of them in intensive care.

The cases will be updated again on Saturday morning to reflect investigations of cases and tests processed Friday at 11:59 p.m. The cases could be higher because the data will reflect tests collected over a period of more than 24 hours, but it is also possible that fewer test samples. were handed over during the holidays. Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr Nirav Shah said on Wednesday that the lab and its workers had not taken a day off since March.

The CDC reported 238 new cases on Thursday, which was the 7th time in 10 days that cases exceeded 200. The 7-day average has risen to 221, from 49 a month ago and 27 just two months ago. . Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 11,265 confirmed or probable cases. The total has doubled since October 7 and 1,317 cases, or about 12%, have occurred in the past seven days.

A test technician for Promerica Health emerges from a curtain at a mobile testing facility for the novel coronavirus at Portland Jetport after dropping off a sample for the lab this week. Ben McCanna / Staff Photographer

No additional deaths were reported Thursday, leaving the state’s total at 190. There had been at least one death in each of the previous 10 days, with 12 deaths reported on Tuesday alone. So far in November, 43 people have died with COVID-19 in Maine, the second month after April.

Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 are often late from peak cases by around two weeks, meaning more of both are likely.

Although cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Maine have risen sharply over the past month, the state is still doing better than many others. Maine’s infection rate is the second lowest behind Vermont. Maine also still has sufficient hospital bed capacity at this point, although some hospitals have started to prepare to convert regular beds to intensive care beds if needed. The state also has plans for two alternative care sites, or field hospitals, which can be set up at short notice.

Across the country, there have been more than 12 million people infected with COVID-19 and more than 260,000 deaths. The US CDC said on Friday that deaths could reach 320,000 by mid-December, in part due to expected spikes in vacation travel. Many of those who traveled were students who will not be allowed to return to campus until the New Year.

In the University of Maine system, there have been 110 positive cases among more than 30,000 students, faculty and staff. Of these, 101 were associated with the Orono flagship campus. All are isolated until their symptoms have passed and they are no longer considered infectious.

According to the COVID Tracking Project, which compiles publicly available data on the state, the 7-day average number of cases has doubled just since polling day. Like Maine, several other states did not report new cases on Friday due to the holidays. As of Thursday, more than 90,000 people in the United States were hospitalized with the virus.

Maine continued to see good testing capability. The state’s testing rate on Tuesday was 727 tests per 100,000 population, well above the seven-day national average of 548 tests per 100,000 population. But a pre-vacation testing crisis in Maine has also made it difficult for some people to both get tested and get results in a timely manner. Those with symptoms of COVID-19 typically have little or no delay in getting tests, but the situation is different for some asymptomatic Mainers who hope to take advantage of the free tests at the “swab-and-send” sites affiliated with the. State.

Shah also cautioned Mainers not to allow a negative test result to give them a false sense of security leading to riskier behavior. He said that a negative result, while encouraging, should be seen as “a snapshot” which does not offer an “absolute guarantee” of health.

“The test tells you what was going on at the time the sample was taken,” Shah said Wednesday. “You could have been exposed the morning you took your test or you could be exposed the day after your test. All the more reason why we cannot let our guard down with the basics. Covering the face, keeping distance physically, avoiding crowds are just as important today as they were in March. “

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