Positive cases of COVID-19 in those under age 18 spiked from three last week to eight this week, which is the highest number seen in that demographic in months, hospital spokesperson John Martins said in an email.
The number of COVID-19 tests performed jumped from 242 last week to 190 this week, but the positivity rate only rose by less than 1%.
For the week of Sept. 12-18, 242 tests were conducted, up 52 tests from last week.
LincolnHealth is also now offering the new bivalent COVID-19 booster shot, which contains components of the original COVID-19 strain as well as the omicron variant.
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.
“People can call their primary care doctor with any questions,” Martins said of the new booster shot.
Booster shots can also be obtained at one of LincolnHealth’s upcoming flu shot clinics, but the patient will have to be observed for 15 minutes for signs of any side effects.
“This is similar to all other COVID vaccines and boosters,” Martins said.
LincolnHealth is also loosening visitor restrictions at Damariscotta’s Miles Campus and will now allow two visitors at a time, as space permits, Martins said.
“Visitors are also allowed in the cafeteria, though we are still unable to serve meals to the general public,” Martins said.
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 Monday, Sept. 19, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 6,306 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus – 5,291 confirmed cases and 1,015 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 also held steady at 94.
Lincoln County has a “moderate to high” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 237,636.43. 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, 27,065, or 78.15%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 27,392, or 80.40%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data.
A total of 82,303 doses of vaccine have been administered, up 1,561 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 27,392 additional or booster shots given to Lincoln County residents.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of Sept. 20, the Maine CDC has reported 281,162 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 5,870 from the week before. Of those cases, 80,348 are probable.
There have been 5,729 hospitalizations in the state, including 35 reported in the past week. There have been 2,569 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including eight reported in the last week. The statewide case rate is 2,144.6 per 10,000 people, up from 2,134.4 last week.
