A resident of Androscoggin County and three residents of Oxford County are among the seven additional Mainers who have lost their lives to COVID-19, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.

The Maine CDC reported 883 new cases of COVID from Saturday, Sunday and Monday, including 64 cases in Androscoggin County, 21 in Franklin County and 34 in Oxford County.

Of the seven additional deaths, four were women and three were men; two of the individuals were in their 50s, four in their 70s and one was 80 years or older. Besides the individuals from Androscoggin and Oxford counties, two people were from Cumberland County and one was from Somerset County.

To date, 79 Mainers in their 50s have died from COVID, accounting for just over 7% of all deaths. The majority of Maine people who have lost their lives to the virus – 51% – were 80 years or older.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 97 residents of Androscoggin County, 20 from Franklin County and 77 from Oxford County have died from COVID-19. Statewide, 1,102 Mainers have lost their lives to the virus.

Hospitalizations were back up over the weekend, after a couple of weeks of declining numbers. As of Tuesday, 203 people were hospitalized with COVID in Maine, 67 of whom are in critical care and 30 are on a ventilator.

In a Tweet on Monday, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah wrote that the “good news” is that there were half the number of people in intensive care units compared to two weeks ago.

“Not good news: 10 more people are on ventilators today and nine more people overall compared with an incubation period ago,” Shah said. “Bottom line: we’re still in this.”

The rising hospitalization numbers also come as Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston temporarily suspended pediatric, cardiac and trauma admissions last week. Central Maine Healthcare’s president and CEO, Steve Littleson, said, “acute nursing staffing shortages,” were factors in the decision.

Upward of 80 staff members across the CMH system have resigned or signaled their intention to leave come Oct. 29, when the state will begin to enforce the requirement that all health care workers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Littleson said last week that he would appeal to the state to extend the deadline or provide a testing alternative, which appears unlikely to happen.

And on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it will not block the vaccine mandate after a lawsuit brought by nine unnamed workers against the state that demanded a religious exemption made its way to the country’s highest court.

On the vaccination front, nearly 76% of all Mainers 12 years and older are fully vaccinated. Eligible residents of Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties are 69.1%, 63.6% and 65.1% fully vaccinated, respectively.

« Previous

U.S. Supreme Court won’t stop Maine’s vaccine mandate for health care workers

Next »

Pediatricians and schools prepare for rollout of vaccines for younger children