COVID-19 cases on the rise again in Maine, hospitalizations are slightly up as well – WMTW Portland
MaineHealth said there are two sets of people landing in the hospital with COVID-19: People who are unvaccinated, or not fully vaccinated and boosted and older people who are vaccinated, but their immune systems are compromised.As of Tuesday, 17 patients at Maine Medical Center in Portland were being treated for COVID-19, with one patient in intensive care. There were no COVID-19 patients on a ventilator.Dr. James Jarvis of Northern Light Health said what he is concerned about is that with more people coming into Maine to vacation, it will likely mean more hospitalizations and a shrinking number of available beds.Tuesday at all Northern Light Health hospitals, there were 50 inpatients being treated for COVID-19.”Every bed that we’re using up because they have COVID is a bed we don’t have available for taking care of somebody who is having a heart attack or is in a motor vehicle accident or women who are in labor and need to deliver their babies in a safe location,” Jarvis said.Dr. Dora Mills at MaineHealth said there is good news and bad news.”This is just going through Maine and the rest of the country and a lot of the world like a brush fire,” Mills said. “COVID has mutated to be incredibly contagious. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a virus this contagious,” she said.Mills, who is the chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth said there is some good news concerning patients who are hospitalized.”Very few of them are in the intensive care unit or on ventilators, so even though they are hospitalized, and they have severe illness, the good news is very few of them, compared to January, are in critical care,” she said.The number of COVID-19 cases is growing among students in the University of Maine System. UMS officials reported that the number of cases on its campuses grew from 54 last week to 187 on Monday, a spike that led to a reinstatement of masking requirements in exam settings. Students at USM in Portland were walking the campus on Tuesday, some with wearing masks.”Honestly, I’m just so used to it now. It’s kind of like normal,” Carly St. Pierre said. “I feel like we all just kind of adjusted to it.”The universities will evaluate this week whether to require face coverings at upcoming graduations ceremonies. So far, only the University of Southern Maine is requiring those attending commencement to wear masks.
MaineHealth said there are two sets of people landing in the hospital with COVID-19: People who are unvaccinated, or not fully vaccinated and boosted and older people who are vaccinated, but their immune systems are compromised.
As of Tuesday, 17 patients at Maine Medical Center in Portland were being treated for COVID-19, with one patient in intensive care. There were no COVID-19 patients on a ventilator.
Dr. James Jarvis of Northern Light Health said what he is concerned about is that with more people coming into Maine to vacation, it will likely mean more hospitalizations and a shrinking number of available beds.
Tuesday at all Northern Light Health hospitals, there were 50 inpatients being treated for COVID-19.
“Every bed that we’re using up because they have COVID is a bed we don’t have available for taking care of somebody who is having a heart attack or is in a motor vehicle accident or women who are in labor and need to deliver their babies in a safe location,” Jarvis said.
Dr. Dora Mills at MaineHealth said there is good news and bad news.
“This is just going through Maine and the rest of the country and a lot of the world like a brush fire,” Mills said. “COVID has mutated to be incredibly contagious. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a virus this contagious,” she said.
Mills, who is the chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth said there is some good news concerning patients who are hospitalized.
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“Very few of them are in the intensive care unit or on ventilators, so even though they are hospitalized, and they have severe illness, the good news is very few of them, compared to January, are in critical care,” she said.
The number of COVID-19 cases is growing among students in the University of Maine System. UMS officials reported that the number of cases on its campuses grew from 54 last week to 187 on Monday, a spike that led to a reinstatement of masking requirements in exam settings.
Students at USM in Portland were walking the campus on Tuesday, some with wearing masks.
“Honestly, I’m just so used to it now. It’s kind of like normal,” Carly St. Pierre said. “I feel like we all just kind of adjusted to it.”
The universities will evaluate this week whether to require face coverings at upcoming graduations ceremonies. So far, only the University of Southern Maine is requiring those attending commencement to wear masks.
