COVID-19 hospitalizations still low in Maine - Press Herald

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Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Maine remained at low levels this week, and slightly below those of last week.

The key metric, which typically lags exposure to the disease by one to three weeks, had generally fallen for more than a month and has been at low levels since the end of May, even as summer tourism season has progressed here and the disease has surged to crisis levels in other parts of the country.

Maine Medical Center, which has handled nearly half the state’s coronavirus burden through most of the crisis, had an average of 4.7 confirmed COVID-19 inpatients each day for the week ending Thursday, up slightly from 4.6 last week but far below its peak daily census counts of 35 set on both April 7 and May 25.

Central Maine Medical Center had an average of 3.3 COVID-19 inpatients a day, essentially unchanged from 3.4 last week. The Lewiston hospital has now seen the third largest pandemic inpatient burden overall after Maine Med and Southern Maine Health Care Medical Center in Biddeford. But the city’s other hospital, St. Mary’s, hasn’t had a COVID-19 inpatient since July 26.

Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick had its busiest week since May with 1.4 COVID-19 inpatients a day but ended the period with no inpatients.

Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor hasn’t had such a patient since July 31 after having at least one each day since the middle of June. MaineGeneral in Augusta, which had been the third most affected hospital in the state, hasn’t had an inpatient with the disease since July 27.

Portland’s Mercy Hospital had an average of 0.7 inpatients a day for the period, while York County’s largest hospital, SMHC Medical Center, had an average of 0.6 per day, up slightly from 0.3 the previous week.

York Hospital in York hasn’t reported a COVID-19 inpatient since June 22.

Bridgton Hospital had an average of 0.9 such inpatients a day after not having one since June 22, but three other hospitals that had reported having patients during June – Rumford, and Waldo in Belfast and Franklin Memorial in Farmington – had none for the week.

Hospitalizations can end three ways: recovery, death, or transfer to another facility. The data does not include outpatients or inpatients who were suspected of having the virus but never tested.

The Press Herald’s survey is for the seven days ending August 6. It compiles data received directly from the hospitals and hospital networks. It includes most, but not all, of the state’s hospitals, but accounts for the vast majority of the statewide hospitalizations reported each week by the Maine CDC.

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