COVID Cases Continue to Rise, Especially in Those Under 30

Lincoln County saw 41 new cases of COVID-19 in residents over the past week, up from 35 the week before.

John Martins, spokesperson for LincolnHealth, said by email that the positivity rate for COVID-19 tests at the Respiratory Care Clinic on the hospital’s Mile Campus in Damariscotta increased slightly in the past week.

“We are seeing increased activity at the Respiratory Care Center, with many of the tests being conducted on a younger age group.  There’s a general trend across Maine for more positive cases in the younger age groups,” Martins wrote.

The state’s swab-and-send site on LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta offers drive-up testing by appointment from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday and Thursday. To make an appointment, call the clinic at 563-4353.

Martins said that people under 30 are also lagging in making appointments to get vaccinated.

All Mainers age 16 and older are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. Martins said individuals can register by visiting mainehealth.org/vaccine.

“Now that the vaccine is available to younger age groups, we’re seeing fewer vaccination appointments being made.  Maine is experiencing a surge in younger patients testing positive for COVID-19 and Lincoln County is no exception,” Timothy Fox, chief medical officer at LincolnHealth, said by email. “If you have not been vaccinated yet, please register for an appointment as soon as possible. It’s the best way to protect yourself and others from the COVID-19 virus.”

Fox also stressed the importance of sticking to COVID-19 safety protocols like wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, and frequently washing hands.

“This applies to everyone, including those who are fully vaccinated,” Fox said.

There are currently three open outbreak investigations in Lincoln County schools — Great Salt Bay Community School in Damariscotta, Boothbay Region Elementary School, and Lincoln Academy, according to Robert Long, spokesperson for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (See “235 LA students, 30 staff members in quarantine after COVID-19 outbreak” in this edition.)

AOS 93 Superintendent Craig Jurgensen sent an email to families on Tuesday, April 13, stressing that all schools in the district are “vigilantly monitoring” the recent increase in COVID-19 infections and continuing to strictly follow all safety protocols.

According to Maine CDC data current as of Tuesday, April 13, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in mid-March 2020, 733 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus — 621 confirmed cases and 112 probable.

Hospitalizations held at 19 and deaths stayed at two total.

Lincoln County has the second-lowest total case count and the third-lowest case rate in the state, after Hancock and Waldo Counties, at 213.4 per 10,000 people.

Since the agency is no longer actively tracking “completed isolations,” an estimate of the number of people currently sick with COVID-19 in Lincoln County can be made using the total number of new cases reported in the past two weeks, 74, up from 60 last week.

According to Maine CDC data current as of Tuesday, April 13, Lincoln County has a “high” rate of doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 94,181.26.

The updated census data for Lincoln County provided by the Maine CDC lists a population of 29,508. Of those residents, 16,247, or 55.06%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 11,544, or 39.12%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data. A total of 27,791 doses of vaccine have been administered.

For those under 30, 785 people have received the first dose of the vaccine and 396 have received the final dose.

Martins said that LincolnHealth’s clinic at the Boothbay Region YMCA’s Marylouise Tandy Cowan Fieldhouse in Boothbay Harbor anticipates delivering 1,510 doses of the Moderna vaccine, including 892 new doses, this week.

According to a database maintained by the Maine CDC, vaccine appointments can also be requested at Hannaford in Damariscotta and Walgreens locations in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor. Appointments are also available at Walmart and at 15 Shaw’s locations, all outside Lincoln County.

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 Shaw’s, go to shaws.com/covid-19.

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.

Those who need help scheduling a vaccination appointment can call a community vaccination line at 1-888-445-4111.

At the LincolnHealth’s Respiratory Care Clinic in Damariscotta, 514 tests for COVID-19 were performed from April 5-11 with 19 positives, for a positivity rate of 3.7%.

According to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center, the seven-day average positivity rate for Maine is 2.36%, down from 4.03% last week.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the seven-day average positivity rate for this past week is 5.5%, up from 5.1% last week.

State COVID-19 numbers

According to data current as of Tuesday, the Maine CDC has reported 55,374 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 2,697 from the week before. Of those cases, 13,575 are probable.

There have been 1,747 hospitalizations in the state. There have been 757 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including 10 in the last week. The statewide case rate is 413.7 per 10,000 people, up from 393.6 last week.

The number of new cases identified in the past two weeks is 4,870.