The positivity rate for COVID-19 tests at LincolnHealth dipped by 3% from last week’s levels to 9.68%, continuing a slight downward trend.
“The number of positive cases dropped for the second consecutive week, which is an encouraging sign,” LincolnHealth spokesperson John Martins said by email.
However, transmission rates of the coronavirus in Maine are among the highest in the country and “hospitalization rates have crept upward,” Martins wrote.
The RSU 40 school district has gone back to requiring face masks in its schools and on transportation due to high COVID-19 community transmission levels in both Lincoln and Knox counties, according to a letter to the school community.
RSU 40 includes the towns of Union, Waldoboro, Warren, Friendship, and Washington.
The school will also hold graduations outside in the wake of increasing transmission, Superintendent Steve Nolan said at the RSU 40 Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, May 5.
Anyone can walk in to any Lincoln Medical Partners primary care office and receive vaccination shots, Martins said. One can establish an appointment at vaccine.mainehealth.org and they do not have to be a patient of Lincoln Medical Partners.
MaineHealth, the health system of which LincolnHealth belongs to, is maintaining a database of COVID-19 information that can be accessed online here: 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.
Martins noted that Nurses’ Week is running through May 12, “the day Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern-day nursing, was born.” This same week is also National Hospital Week and Skilled Nursing Week and he wanted to express appreciation for all the healthcare workers.
“We salute all of our team members who continue to do whatever is needed in a way that centers around our patients and residents,” Martins wrote.
According to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data through Tuesday, May 10, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 5,551 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus – 4,689 confirmed cases and 862 probable.
Deaths in county residents held steady at 35.
Lincoln County has a “moderate to high” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 219,553.04.
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, 26,629, or 76.89%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 27,277, or 78.76%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data.
A total of 76,040 doses of vaccine have been administered, up 610 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 22,134 additional or booster shots given to Lincoln County residents.
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 visit vaccine.mainehealth.org to make an appointment.
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 9.26%, up from 8.02% last week.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of May 10, the Maine CDC has reported 243,128 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 9,525 from the week before. Of those cases, 69,994 are probable.
There have been 4,829 hospitalizations in the state. There have been 2,330 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including 34 reported in the last week. The statewide case rate is 1,887.7 per 10,000 people, up from 1,853.7 last week.
