The number of positive COVID-19 cases identified at LincolnHealth dropped slightly this week, according to hospital spokesperson John Martins.
For Aug. 15-22, 244 tests were performed with 30 positives. The positivity rate dropped to 12.35% from 16.53% last week.
The number of tests being performed through the LincolnHealth system has remained fairly steady over the last three weeks, Martins said.
Community transmission, which is defined by the U.S. 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 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 in the past seven days, the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 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 by visiting vaccine.mainehealth.org.
MaineHealth is maintaining a database of COVID-19 information that can be accessed at mainehealth.org/coronavirus-COVID-19/what-to-do.
The health system also recommends staying home when sick, testing for COVID-19 in the event of symptoms or contact with a COVID-19-positive person, and seeking care when necessary.
According to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data current through Tuesday, Aug. 23, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 6,189 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus – 5,194 confirmed cases and 995 probable.
The number of deaths in Lincoln County residents stayed at 40.
The number of residents who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic held flat at 90.
Lincoln County has a “moderate” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 232,797.25. The number does not represent fully vaccinated individuals and, since the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both require two doses, the number can be higher than 100,000.
The census data for Lincoln County provided by the Maine CDC lists a population of 34,634. Of those residents, 27,014, or 78.00%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 27,679, or 79.92%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data.
A total of 80,627 doses of vaccine have been administered, up 296 doses from last week. Those counted in the final dose category have either received the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
There have been 25,934 additional or booster shots given to Lincoln County residents.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of Aug. 23, the Maine CDC has reported 281,162 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 1,518 from the week before. Of those cases, 78,449 are probable.
There have been 5,517 hospitalizations in the state, including 56 reported in the past week. There have been 2,505 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including nine reported in the last week. The statewide case rate is 2,100.7 per 10,000 people, up from 2,089.4 last week.
