The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has reported no new cases of COVID-19 in Lincoln County since June 11 and only one in the last 31 days.
In total, as of Tuesday, June 23, at least 19 people from Lincoln County have had a confirmed positive test for COVID-19 and there have been two “probable cases.” This category includes people who are close contacts of someone with a confirmed case and become symptomatic.
The Maine CDC starting showing the breakdown of confirmed and probable cases by county Tuesday.
The case rate for Lincoln County is reported as 6.1 per every 10,000 people. Two residents have been hospitalized for COVID-19. There have been 18 recoveries, leaving a total of three active cases in Lincoln County.
Community transmission of the virus has not been detected in Lincoln County, according to the Maine CDC.
LincolnHealth has not seen any new COVID-19 cases for 33 days, according to hospital data.
John Martins, spokesperson for LincolnHealth, said by email that the number of calls to the hospital’s COVID-19 clinic continues to increase, spurred by confusion over Gov. Janet Mills’ plan to expand testing starting in July.
He said that there has been no change in testing policy. The hospital continues to require a physician’s note for a COVID-19 test and is not offering drive-up testing.
LincolnHealth continues to slowly ease restrictions at the Miles Campus in Damariscotta. This week, the hospital started seeing patients in wellness and rehab. Martins said this includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, diabetes, and nutrition education.
“Many safety precautions are in place, and patients should be assured that their safety is our top priority,” Martins said.
Last week, the hospital began allowing some narrow exemptions to its policy of no visitors.
Dr. Timothy Fox, LincolnHealth’s chief medical officer, suggested by email that the relatively low case count in Lincoln County is a testament to residents’ vigilance in taking precautions against spreading COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
“The numbers in Lincoln County remain encouraging and that’s a direct reflection of people continuing to wear masks, avoiding large gatherings, staying 6 feet apart from each other and practicing good hand hygiene,” Fox said. “As more businesses open and more people from outside of our state visit us, we will need to keep a close watch on our numbers. While there’s a reason for cautious optimism, it’s important to not become complacent.”
State COVID-19 numbers
The Maine CDC reports that 2,994 people have or had COVID-19 in Maine as of Tuesday, June 23, an increase of 175 from the week before. Of these cases, 339 are probable cases.
There have been 339 hospitalizations and 2,443 people have recovered. There have been 102 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine.
The number of active cases, 449 – calculated by subtracting recoveries and deaths from the confirmed and probable case total – is a decrease of 36 from one week before.
The Maine CDC also lists the results of antibody tests, which are intended to detect whether someone has had COVID-19 and recovered from it. It is not yet known if testing positive for coronavirus antibodies confers immunity from COVID-19.
Since May 20, 307 people have tested positive for antibodies and there have 6,470 negative results in Maine. Eight tests were indeterminate.
