Hospitalizations decline as Maine reports 791 new cases of COVID-19 – Press Herald
The number of people hospitalized in Maine with COVID-19 declined on Monday as the state reported 791 new cases and one additional death.
And a steep increase in cases within the University of Maine System has resulted in the system re-imposing a mask mandate for indoor activities effective April 30. Cases detected during the previous two weeks jumped to 187 on Monday at the University of Maine System, compared to 54 cases last week.
Statewide COVID hospitalizations declined from 156 on Sunday to 150 on Monday. Of the patients hospitalized Monday, 29 were in critical care and five were on ventilators.
Despite the drop Monday, patient counts have increased sharply over the past 10 days. Hospitalizations had hovered around 90 to 100 from mid-March to late April before the recent rise. The number of hospital patients with the virus peaked at 436 during on Jan. 13.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention does not typically release new case counts on Mondays, but made an exception this week because of the higher number of recent cases.
“The number of reported positive COVID-19 test results increased last week, so our team worked through the weekend to ensure that there would be no backlog,” said Robert Long, Maine CDC spokesman. “We hope that this is a short-term change in response to the recent increase. It’s not a change in our standard procedure.”
Since the pandemic began, Maine has reported 245,871 cases of COVID-19, and 2,287 deaths.
The daily case count indicates how rapidly the virus is spreading when compared to the previous days or weeks. But because many people now rely on at-home tests that are not included in the officials count, so it can’t be accurately compared to case counts during previous periods of the pandemic.
Wastewater testing updated on Monday was mixed, with Bangor and Belfast showing a decrease, while Brunswick experienced a slight increase but remained at low levels. Augusta showed an increase in virus prevalence on Monday from wastewater testing.
This story will be updated.
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