Most Maine counties are now considered low-risk for COVID-19 transmission and hospital burden, according to updated federal data.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates its “community levels” data weekly, looking at case counts, new hospital admissions and hospital capacity to determine the COVID-19 risk levels by county. The settings are meant as guidelines to help people decide whether to take extra precautions, such as wearing a mask or avoiding crowds. The only recommendations for residents of low-risk counties are to get vaccinated and to get tested if they feel sick.

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.

Aroostook County is the only county in Maine in the “red” category. The omicron wave crested first in more populated southern and coastal counties, while more rural counties such as Aroostook lagged behind.

Easing federal guidelines, combined with the state recommending an end to mandatory masking in schools, are quickly changing attitudes  and behaviors.

“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.”

Most schools, cities and towns that previously imposed mask mandates have already rescinded them or are about to do so.

The city of Portland is making masks optional for most city buildings starting on Saturday, although it will continue to recommend mask wearing, city spokeswoman Jessica Grondin said. The change does not apply to the Portland Expo and Merrill Auditorium. Mask rules for the Portland Expo and Merrill Auditorium will be updated Monday, she said, after the city coordinates any rule changes with promoters for events at those venues.

Portland City Council meetings, starting with the March 21 meeting, will be a hybrid of in-person and remote.

Portland rescinded its indoor mask mandate in February, but the city had kept the mask requirement in place for city buildings.

Also on Friday, Maine reported 253 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths. Since the pandemic began, Maine has logged 232,011 cases of COVID-19, and 2,142 deaths.

COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped to 121 patients Friday, with 25 in critical care and seven on ventilators. Hospitalizations have declined by more than 70 percent since a peak of 436 on Jan. 13. The number of inpatients is now the lowest since August, when the delta variant was taking hold in Maine.

Public health officials are by no means declaring the pandemic over.

‘DOWN BUT NOT OUT’

Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, was not available to be interviewed Friday, but posted on Twitter Thursday and cited the dramatic drop in cases and hospitalizations: “Assessment: COVID is down, but not out.”

However, even if a new variant emerges that renders current vaccines ineffective – which is among the worst-case scenarios – the public health tools devised to battle COVID-19 are far superior to 2020, when the only choice was to impose lockdown rules, Mills said. Along with vaccines, the country is ramping up production of new medicines to prevent severe symptoms.

“We now have the ability to produce new vaccines against new variants much more quickly, within 100 days,” Mills said. “Even if we had a variant that emerged that our prior (vaccine and natural) immunity doesn’t protect against, we can turn the dial up on masks, ventilation and treatments. We have so many more tools now, and we are in a so much better place than 2020.”

Mills said as COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined in recent weeks, hospitals are starting to catch up on elective surgeries – such as knee and hip replacements – that had previously been postponed to maintain capacity for COVID-19 patients.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Amy Calder: Decades after suffering abuse, Waterville man offers a message and a warning

Next »

Augusta to allow remote public participation in City Council meetings