Maine COVID-19 hospitalizations remain relatively low - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel

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The number of patients hospitalized statewide with COVID-19 remains low, the state reported Saturday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations numbered 122, one higher than on Friday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those 122 in the hospital, 23 were in critical care and six on ventilators. Hospitalizations have declined by more than 70 percent since a peak of 436 on Jan. 13.

Also on Saturday, Maine reported 282 new cases of COVID-19, and three additional deaths.

With the picture improving, most Maine counties are now considered low-risk for COVID-19 transmission and hospital burden, according to updated federal data.

Two weeks ago, Maine was mostly considered “red” or high risk, which means masks are recommended for everyone when indoors. But the case count data were still being skewed because the Maine CDC was going through a massive backlog of cases from previous weeks, making case counts appear artificially high.

Since then, the Maine CDC has cleared the backlog, and hospitalization metrics have improved. Ten of Maine’s 16 counties are now in the “green” category: Cumberland, York, Penobscot, Androscoggin, Oxford, Franklin, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Hancock and Piscataquis.

Five are in the moderate transmission, or “yellow” category: Somerset, Lincoln, Washington, Knox and Kennebec. Residents of counties in the yellow category are advised to wear masks indoors if they are at high risk of illness.

Since the pandemic began, Maine has logged 232,293 cases of COVID-19 and 2,145 deaths.

With health officials easing masking recommendations, most schools, cities and towns have lifted mask mandates. Fewer shoppers in stores are wearing masks with life has begun to feel more like 2019, before the pandemic began.

On Monday, Portland schools are lifting the mask mandates for students and staff, moving to optional masking.

“There is a lot more optimism in the air,” said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, chief health improvement officer for the MaineHealth network and a former Maine CDC director. “There is a sense of relief across the board, and a desire for some normalcy, and we’re experiencing more normalcy.”

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