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The number of coronavirus patients admitted to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor continued to peak in the final days of 2020, even as numbers stabilized slightly at other hospitals in the state.
A record 55 coronavirus patients have been hospitalized at Bangor hospital on New Year’s Eve, representing nearly a third of the estimated 177 daily hospitalizations due to the virus in the state, according to data from the parent organization Northern Light Health.
On average, 52 patients have been hospitalized at EMMC – the state’s second largest hospital – every day over the past week, up from 44 the week before Christmas and 27 the week before.
The rise comes as the state’s largest hospital, Maine Medical Center in Portland, admitted an average of just 32 patients last week.
The total number of coronavirus patients hospitalized in Maine also declined somewhat from a record 198 on December 14, according to the COVID Tracking Project. It averaged 183 last week.
However, some health officials have expressed concern that indoor gatherings and travel from the Christmas and New Years holidays could contribute to new waves of infections in the weeks to come even then. that healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes begin to be vaccinated.
At the EMMC, officials recently placed new restrictions on family visits to patients to help reduce the risk of the virus spreading. The hospital also recently had to contain an outbreak of coronavirus that has infected at least 48 people, including some patients in a postoperative surgical unit. However, the hospital said some of the cases were also caused by workers who caught the virus in the community.
So far, the hospital has not had to take dramatic steps to free up staff and capacity, such as systematically postponing other procedures such as mammograms and colonoscopies, according to the Northern Light spokesperson. Health, Suzanne Spruce.
“Our growing number in Northern Light Health [hospitals] and particularly at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center are, of course, a constant concern, ”Spruce said. “At this time, we are able to maintain our essential and routine services, but we continue to monitor bed capacity, staff and other resources and will adjust accordingly.
Spruce also reiterated the need for Mainers to take action to limit the spread of the coronavirus and reduce the risk that more workers or people could fall ill, including “wearing headwear in public, avoiding gatherings outside of home, practice good hand hygiene, and stay at least six feet away. “
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