COVID hospitalizations hold steady in Maine as cases mount worldwide
Jul. 1—Maine reported a slight rise Friday in the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
But the state remains in a holding pattern, as both hospitalizations and case counts have fluctuated only slightly for about two weeks at levels that remain far higher than they were at this point in the past two summers.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization reported Thursday cases were on the rise in 110 countries around the world, including in the United States, mostly driven by the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. Both of the highly contagious variants are now circulating in Maine, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
A total of 115 patients were hospitalized with the virus in Maine as of Friday morning, including 19 in critical care and three on ventilators, according to the Maine CDC. The overall number is up from 113 on Thursday.
The CDC added three COVID-related deaths to the state's pandemic total Friday, a reminder that the latest variants of the virus can still be dangerous even though most infections now are mild compared to earlier versions of the disease. Health officials continue to advise people to be vaccinated and get booster shots, especially those who are are older or have underlying medical conditions that could make them vulnerable to severe symptoms.
Maine also reported 197 new cases of the disease Friday, bringing the seven-day average of new cases to 213 per day. The official counts do not include cases detected with at-home tests.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified all Maine counties as having low community levels, which means there are no official indoor masking recommendations anywhere in Maine, except for inside transportation centers and medical facilities. The classification system is based on each county's case counts, hospital patient loads and hospital capacity.
But a low community level does not mean the virus is not actively circulating or that there is no risk of contracting COVID. Many people continue to wear masks in public indoor spaces based on the current levels of infections and some businesses may continue to encourage mask wearing.
While experiencing lower levels than most other states, Maine's case counts and patient counts remain far higher than they were at the beginning of July in 2020 and 2021, when the state enjoyed summer breaks from the pandemic. At this point in 2020 and in 2021, Maine had about 30 hospitalized patients and an average of fewer than 40 new cases per day.
It's not clear how widespread the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are in Maine or if they have become the predominant strains here. The most recently reported state testing was conducted in mid June. At that time, the new variants accounted for about 15 percent of the cases sampled, according to CDC data.
Since the pandemic began, Maine has recorded 270,123 cases and 2,418 deaths.
This story will be updated.