COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine see sharp increase – Portland Press Herald – Press Herald

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine continued an upward climb on Monday, with 130 people hospitalized, the most since March 9.

The number of hospitalized patients increased by 14, from 116 on Sunday to 130 on Monday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of patients in critical care remained relatively steady, increasing by one patient to 25 on Monday. Three patients are on ventilators.

Maine’s COVID-19 hospitalizations had remained nearly flat since March 18, hovering around 90 to 100 patients, before spiking up by 26 patients during the past two days. The long plateau occurred after a steady drop coming down from a peak of 436 hospitalizations on Jan. 13.

Case counts have also been increasing in Maine, from a seven-day daily average of about 200 in recent weeks to 278 on Monday. The Maine CDC does not update case counts over the weekend, so the next release of case count data will be Tuesday, representing cases from Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Recent wastewater testing from the past week is showing mixed results, but many sewer districts in Maine are reporting decreases in virus prevalence. Bangor, which had experienced a recent surge in virus levels in its wastewater, dropped to about 220,000 copies of the virus per liter of wastewater, a decline of about 80 percent compared with recent weeks.

Lewiston-Auburn also saw steep declines in virus prevalence in its wastewater. The Portland Water District’s wastewater plants in Westbrook and in the East End have seen upticks but remain at relatively low levels.

Advertisement

Brunswick, Belfast, York, Calais and Fort Kent are reporting substantial drops in virus prevalence in wastewater, but Houlton recorded a sharp increase. Augusta’s numbers are relatively the same but remain at elevated levels.

This story will be updated.

« Previous

Related Stories