Record number of patients with COVID in ventilators, as Maine reports 778 new cases

Maine reported 778 more cases of coronavirus, as on Wednesday the number of patients with ventilators reached a new record.

Forty-two people in Maine hospitals are breathing with the help of ventilators, according to data from the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which on Monday exceeded the previous high of 40 people.

The state also reported seven new deaths, bringing the total number of people killed during the pandemic to 976. There were a total of 81,955 cases.

The seven-day average of new daily cases is 450.6, up from 359 a week ago and 173.7 a month ago. The increase in cases has caused the Maine CDC to resume weekly meetings with its media with its director, Dr. Nirav Shah, who is expected to report on the status of the virus at 2 p.m.

The latest numbers come as the most contagious delta variant increases among unvaccinated in Maine and across the country. The burden of the disease is also shifting towards the younger ones, as children under the age of 12 are not fit for the vaccine and return to school and concentrate more.

Twenty-nine percent of cases reported Wednesday occurred among people under the age of 20 and another 16 percent among people under the age of twenty. People aged 70 and over, representing Maine’s most vaccinated population, accounted for only six percent of new cases Wednesday.

The most recent figures rank all counties in Maine except Sagadahoc, which have high transmission, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calculates transmission levels based on new cases per 100,000 people. in the last seven days or test the positivity rates, whichever is higher. Waldo County currently has the worst levels of transmission. The 223 cases reported in the last seven days mean the county has a case rate of 561.5 per 100,000 people. Sagadahoc County, where transmission is substantial, has a seven-day case rate of 97.6 per 100,000 people.

The Maine CDC over the past few weeks has needed to clear up the delays in weekend cases because there have been many positive test results. It was not immediately clear on Wednesday whether the new daily figures represent cases of a 24-hour period or are partially the result of a delay.

The Maine education commissioner told lawmakers that schools were overwhelmed by the number of cases they saw in the first few weeks, but the state continues to believe that in-person learning can occur safely as long as maintain health protocols such as universal indoor masking and vaccines for all who are eligible.

“Unfortunately, we had this extraordinary and unexpected rise in COVID that clashed with the very opening days of the school,” Pender Makin said. “I think you will see a readjustment and people will be satisfied to realize that we live with COVID for a while. It’s not something we walk away from and say, “Mission accomplished.” We must learn to live reasonably in an environment where there is a very dangerous, often fatal, disease in our midst. ”

Maine continues to have high hospitalization rates and on Monday broke a record for the number of people who needed mechanical ventilators to breathe, with 40 people in Maine hospitals with ventilators. On Wednesday, 192 people in Maine were hospitalized, including 70 in critical care and 42 in ventilators. There are 194 fans available, out of a total of 294, in the state and 55 remaining critical care beds out of a total of 332.

Nearly all critically ill patients and 70 to 75 percent of all hospitalized patients have not been vaccinated, the Maine CDC reported.

Across the state, 64% of people are completely vaccinated. This figure increases to 72.9% for the population aged 12 and over who meet the requirements to receive vaccines.

Nationally, the summer rise appears to be declining, although coronavirus deaths continue to rise. The seven-day average of new daily cases nationwide was 152,177 on Wednesday, down slightly from the 152,393 average a week ago, according to the New York Times.

Maine’s infection rate rose to 33 cases per 100,000 residents, the second highest in New England after Rhode Island. But the state is still below the national infection rate of 46 cases per 100,000 people due to even more severe rises in many southern states.

This story will be updated.

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