The positivity rate of COVID-19 cases at LincolnHealth has dipped to 6.15% from 9.77% last week, moving in the “right direction,” hospital spokesperson John Martins said by email.
One more Lincoln County resident has died in the past week as a result of COVID-19, bringing total deaths in county residents to 36.
Martins said this is getting closer to the 5% positivity rate benchmark recommended by the World Health Organization.
On May 12, 2020, the WHO advised governments that before reopening, rates of positivity in COVID-19 testing should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
After one more day of testing patients on Saturday, June 4, the COVID-19 testing clinic at 40 Belvedere Road is now closed.
“Testing has now moved back into the primary care practices. Pre-operative testing is now done on the second floor of the Watson Center in the surgery office,” Martins wrote.
From May 30 to June 5, LincolnHealth conducted 79 COVID-19 tests with 19 positives. Of those testing positive, 74% were fully vaccinated and five cases were in those younger than 18.
The vaccine is being provided through all of LincolnHealth’s primary care practices, as well as booster shots. 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, according to Martins.
MaineHealth, the health system LincolnHealth belongs to, 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, June 7, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 5,800 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus – 4,887 confirmed cases and 913 probable.
Lincoln County has a “moderate to high” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 225,518.28. 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, 26,708, or 77.11%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 27,369, or 79.02%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data.
A total of 78,106 doses of vaccine have been administered, up 435 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 24,029 additional or booster shots given to Lincoln County residents.
According to a database maintained by the Maine CDC, vaccine appointments can be requested at Hannaford in Damariscotta, Walgreens in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, and Wiscasset Family Medicine.
Patients of Sheepscot Valley Health Center in Coopers Mills can call 549-7581 to make an appointment for a vaccine.
To schedule an appointment at Hannaford, go to hannaford.com/pharmacy/covid-19-vaccine.
To schedule an appointment at Walgreens, go to walgreens.com/schedulevaccine or call 1-800-WALGREENS.
To schedule an appointment at Wiscasset Family Medicine, call 882-6008.
According to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center, the seven-day average positivity rate for Maine is 8.74%, down from 10.4% last week.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of June 7, the Maine CDC has reported 263,439 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 1,803 from the week before. Of those cases, 74,028 are probable.
There have been 4,975 hospitalizations in the state, including 74 reported in the past week. There have been 2,400 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including 54 reported in the last week. The statewide case rate is 1,981.8 per 10,000 people, up from 1,968.3 last week.
