New COVID-19 cases reported in Lincoln County residents dipped for the second week in a row—with 53 new cases, down from 66 last week and 129 the week prior.
One more resident died from the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus and one more person was hospitalized. Since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, a total of five residents have died and 33 have been hospitalized.
LincolnHealth spokesperson John Martins said by email that testing numbers at the Respiratory Care Clinic on the hospital’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta remained steady but the number of positive cases and positivity rate dropped this week.
Between Oct. 4 and Oct. 10, LincolnHealth tested 551 individuals for COVID-19 with 38 positive results, for a positivity rate of 6.9%, down from 8.17% last week.
“The number of positive cases dropped by seven to 38. This marks the third week in a row with a drop in positive cases, though the drop this week was less than in the previous week,” Martins wrote.
The number of COVID-19 cases that are “breakthrough cases” in fully vaccinated individuals rose this week from about 30% to 37%.
Martins attributed this partly to the high vaccination rate in Lincoln County, which is currently at 71.73% of the total population. He said this means there are fewer unvaccinated people for the more contagious delta variant to impact.
“The number of cases of those under age 18 dropped to 10, the third straight decrease in this population,” Martins wrote.
According to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data current as of Tuesday, Oct. 12, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 1,686 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus — 1,375 confirmed cases and 311 probable.
An estimate of the number of people with an active infection of COVID-19 can be made using the number of cases identified in the past two weeks, 119, down from 195 last week and 213 the week prior.
According to a graph maintained by the Bangor Daily News, as of Wednesday, Oct. 13, masking is recommended in Lincoln County and every other county in Maine.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that people wear face coverings indoors if there is “substantial transmission” of the coronavirus in a county, defined as a weekly case rate of 50 or more cases per 100,000 people.
According to Maine CDC data current as of Tuesday, for the total population, Lincoln County has a “moderate” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 142,585.32.
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, according to Robert Long, spokesperson for the Maine CDC.
The census data for Lincoln County provided by the Maine CDC lists a population of 34,634. Of those residents, 23,521, or 67.91%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 24,842, or 71.73%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data.
A total of 49,383 doses of vaccine have been administered, up 611 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 1,020 additional or booster shots given to Lincoln County residents.
The vaccine is being provided through all of LincolnHealth’s primary care practices, as well a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Martins said that the hospital is also currently preparing to receive booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine and will provide more information when they are available.
Martins also said that flu shots are currently available and clinics are ongoing. A clinic will be held at the Watson Center on LincolnHealth’s Miles campus from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 16. A clinic will also be open at the Watson Center and at the Lincoln Medical Partners office in Wiscasset from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 23.
According to a database maintained by the Maine CDC, vaccine appointments can be requested at Hannaford in Damariscotta, Walgreens in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, Nathan’s Pharmacy in Boothbay Harbor, and Community Pharmacy in Waldoboro.
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 Community Pharmacy, go to communityrx.com/covid-19.
To schedule an appointment at Nathan’s Pharmacy, call 315-2280.
According to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center, the seven-day average positivity rate for Maine is 7.27%, down from 7.75% last week.
According to the U.S. CDC, the seven-day average positivity rate for this past week is 6.1%, down from 6.6% last week.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of Tuesday, the Maine CDC has reported 95.833 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 10,677 from the week before. Of those cases, 27,494 are probable.
There have been 2,614 hospitalizations in the state. There have been 1,083 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including 38 reported in the last week. The statewide case rate is 716 per 10,000 people, up from 692.4 last week.
The number of new cases identified in the past two weeks is 18,186, up from 11,417 last week and 7,109 the week prior.
