A total of 169 Guard members have been dispatched to health care facilities this week to help blunt the variant’s impact on the state’s health care system.
Eric Russell
Staff Writer
Eric Russell has been a general assignment reporter at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram since 2012 and has been a journalist in Maine since 2004. Because he doesn’t have a specific geographic or topical area to cover, Eric often is free to roam the state in pursuit of the most interesting stories, whether it’s tackling the big topic of the day or chasing ideas that fall just outside the boundaries of everyday news. His favorite assignments are ones where he can leave the office and meet with people in their homes or their workplaces to talk about their struggles and challenges – and sometimes their triumphs. Or to try and answer complicated questions.
Eric grew up in Southern Maine, went to college at the University of Maine and worked in Bangor for eight years before joining the Press Herald. He lives in Brunswick with his wife, a school teacher, and two daughters.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Maine CDC overwhelmed by backlog of 46,000 positive COVID-19 tests
The omicron variant has created a flood of positive tests in the past two weeks and the state has been unable to keep up with the screening process, which means the daily numbers have dramatically undercounted the infection rate.
advertisement
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Dramatic rise in positive COVID test results reveals intensity of omicron surge in Maine
The number of positive tests reported to the state each day has roughly tripled over the past month, further overwhelming the state’s ability to determine which are confirmed new cases and which are followup tests.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Maine hospitals see slight drop in COVID-19 patients
The number of patients still remains above 400, which is double the highest number in Maine hospitals last winter.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Answers to commonly asked questions about the omicron variant
The new year ushered in a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, one dominated by the fast-spreading omicron variant.
Posted inLocal & State, News
New superintendent hired for Long Creek, Maine’s beleaguered youth prison
Lynne Allen comes to Maine from the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services. She succeeds Caroline Raymond, who resigned in September after a series of violent incidents at the South Portland facility.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Southern Maine hospitals inundated as COVID-19 patient numbers hit new high
The omicron variant continues to sweep through Maine and the country, leading to increased hospitalizations and disruptions of schools and businesses.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Front-line health care workers more strained than ever during omicron surge
Nearly two years after COVID-19 first hit Maine, the pandemic is putting an enormous burden on the state’s health care workers and system.
Posted inHealth
Answers to commonly asked questions about the omicron variant
The highly transmissible variant has ushered in a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Hospitalizations set record in Maine as omicron creates new hot spots for infections
The variant has spread first in coastal and more populous counties, driving up infection rates where they had been relatively low just three weeks ago, and experts predict cases soon will spike in every county.