After a record 31 new cases of COVID-19 two weeks ago and 29 a week ago, Lincoln County added a comparatively low 15 cases this week.
The county now has 31 active cases, down 14 from last week, according to data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention current as of Tuesday, Dec. 1.
The county has seen 161 total cases of COVID-19 since March — 153 confirmed and eight probable.
There have been two deaths and 10 hospitalizations, but none of either in the last week, and 128 people have recovered.
The county’s case rate is 46.9 per 10,000 people, up from 42.5 last week.
The Maine CDC’s ZIP code data shows that Waldoboro and Whitefield have moved up to the 20-49 range for cases, with 25 in Whitefield.
Boothbay Harbor, Bristol, Damariscotta, Jefferson, Newcastle, and Wiscasset all list six to 19 cases.
The Maine CDC lists the following Lincoln County municipalities as having one to five cases: Alna, Boothbay, Bremen, Dresden, East Boothbay, Edgecomb, Nobleboro, Pemaquid, Southport, and Walpole.
The agency does not list any cases in New Harbor, Round Pond, South Bristol, or Trevett.
LincolnHealth performed 584 COVID-19 tests in the past week, down from a record 684 the previous week. There were 19 positive results for a positivity rate of 3.25%.
The swab-and-send clinic at the hospital did not conduct any tests in the past week due to the holiday.
LincolnHealth spokesperson John Martins said in an email that operations on the hospital’s two campuses will change starting this week. Beginning Friday, Dec. 4, staff of the St. Andrews Urgent Care Center in Boothbay Harbor will begin caring for patients on the Miles Campus in Damariscotta and services at the urgent care center will be suspended. LincolnHealth took a similar action in late March.
Some nonclinical staff members from Miles will transition to working remotely in order to create more space for incoming support staff.
“We are only transitioning those who can be as effective working remotely as they would be in the office,” Martins said.
Additionally, Martins reported that an outbreak investigation at Cove’s Edge, a long-term care facility on the Miles Campus, can now close.
The investigation opened Nov. 16 after four employees tested positive. An initial round of universal testing showed no new cases and a second round of universal testing completed this week yielded all negative results, meaning the facility can return to surveillance testing every two weeks.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Maine CDC has reported 12,208 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 1,409 from last week. Of those cases, 1,338 are probable.
There have been 725 hospitalizations and 9,564 people have recovered.
There have been 218 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine. Director Nirav Shah reported a record 20 deaths Tuesday, Dec. 1. Those people ranged in age from their 60s to 90s and came from eight counties.
The statewide case rate is 91.2 per 10,000 people, up from 80.7 last week.
The number of active cases is 2,436, an increase of 60 from last week.
