COVID-19 hospitalizations continued to decline on Monday and now have fallen 73 percent from the January peak to levels not seen since last summer.
On Monday, 116 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine, down from 124 on Sunday. Twenty-five people were listed in intensive care, and seven were on ventilators, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Nationally, hospitalizations also are plummeting, from a high of about 21,000 new admissions a day in mid-January to about 2,600 a day now, an 88 percent decline in the seven-day average, according to federal data.
Most of Maine’s counties, and most of the nation, are considered at low risk of COVID-19 transmission and hospital burden, according to U.S. CDC guidelines updated Thursday. The CDC’s “community levels” color-coded system combines case counts, new hospital admissions and hospital capacity to determine the risk level. Green is considered “low” risk, yellow is “moderate” and red is “high” risk for contracting COVID-19.
Ten of Maine’s 16 counties – including Cumberland and York counties – are in the green category, five are in yellow and Aroostook County is the only Maine county currently in the red, or high-risk category. The community levels are updated by the U.S. CDC once a week on Thursdays.
Omicron continues to be the dominant strain of the virus detected during surveillance testing, the Maine CDC said on Monday. All samples tested in March were omicron, compared to 97 percent omicron in February, 95 percent in January and 17 percent in December. In December, delta was the most prevalent strain, with 83 percent of cases, but it was quickly overtaken by the more contagious but less severe omicron variant.
The latest round of testing in March did not detect any cases of the omicron subvariant, BA.2, although it was detected last month and is known to be present in Maine. While omicron BA.2 appears to be more contagious than the more prevalent form of the variant, it is not expected to cause another major surge in the United States because vaccinations and natural immunity from previous infections still provide protection.
Meanwhile, more mask mandates are being rescinded as pandemic conditions improve. The city of Portland-owned Merrill Auditorium, Portland Expo – home of the Maine Celtics basketball team – and Ocean Gateway shifted to mask optional on Monday, although proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test will still be required for entry. Last week, the city of Portland rescinded its mask mandate for city buildings, such as City Hall.
For specific events, it’s possible that mask requirements may be in place, according to the city, “depending on requests from the artist, event organizer, promoter or league.”
Also on Monday, Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, which recently hosted the high school basketball playoffs and is the home of the Maine Mariners minor league hockey team, rescinded its mask mandate and requirement of proof of vaccination for entry.
A blanket indoor mask mandate that covered all public indoor spaces in Portland was rescinded in February.
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