Maine reported another increase Tuesday in the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

A total of 141 patients were hospitalized statewide as of Tuesday morning, including 22 in critical care, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 139 Monday and is the highest number since early June.

However, none of the patients in intensive care Tuesday were connected to ventilators because they could not breathe on their own, the state reported. That is the first time since October 2020 there were no Maine patients ill enough to need a ventilator, according to CDC data.

The state also reported 444 new COVID cases Tuesday, the first update in three days. The seven-day average of new cases held steady at 210 per day.

Hospitalizations also have been increasing nationwide as new more contagious omicron subvariants drive up infection rates. The number of new hospital admissions increased 8 percent nationwide over the past week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While less likely to cause severe illness than previous strains, omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are much more transmissible and more likely to infect people with some past immunity, whether from vaccination or past infection. Health officials say older people with underlying medical conditions and younger, unvaccinated people are most likely to need hospital care following an infection.

Since the pandemic began, Maine has logged 273,567 cases and 2,464 deaths.


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