There were 20 new cases of COVID-19 identified in residents of Lincoln County in the past week, according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data current as of Sunday, Feb. 25.
The total number of residents hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 remained at 123 and total deaths stayed at 44.
According to LincolnHealth Director of Communications and Public Affairs Director John Martins, LincolnHealth administered 171 tests between Feb. 20 and Feb. 26. It is too soon to say if the increase is a trend, but the healthcare provider is continuing to monitor the situation, Martins said.
“Here at LincolnHealth, we saw a sizeable uptick in total tests, positive tests and percentage positive last week,” Martins said. “The percent positive was 16.47, the highest it has been in some time. The number of tests was the highest since the first week in January, and positive tests doubled (28) from the previous week.
Since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 6,908 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus – 5,754 confirmed cases and 1,154 probable.
Lincoln County has a “moderate” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 270,162.27. 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.
