Maine reports 1,091 cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths

Maine reported another 1,091 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, killing an additional 15 in preparation for a surge in cases caused by a rapidly prevailing variant of Omicron in public schools, universities and hospitals. did.

The positive test backlog submitted to the state means that some cases reported Thursday were from earlier this month and do not reflect accurate daily counts. The official state count does not include people who use home tests that have not been reported or have not been tested at all.

Omicron variants have spread to Maine, causing more infections, state health officials said Wednesday: Schools are advised to follow new federal guidelines Reduces the amount of time an infected individual and his close contact need to be quarantined or remained quarantined.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Monday that it would continue quarantine and quarantine for five days, followed by wearing masks around other people for another five days. The previous guideline was to quarantine for a complete 10 days.

Federal health officials said the change in guidelines reflected that infected people were less likely to spread the virus after five days, but guidance was given because infected people could be transmitted longer. Some criticize it.

This change is expected to help hospitals and key businesses maintain staffing, as the more contagious variants of Omicron increase infection rates. The state’s decision to apply guidelines to schools also aims to keep schools open and reduce the amount of time students have to stay home if they become infected or exposed.

Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Maine, said Wednesday that the new rules are a balance between safety and the provision of more realistic and likely rules.

“We know that quarantine and quarantine are difficult for people,” Shah said. COVID-19 also said that the first 5 days were much more contagious than the 6th to 10th days.

father, Universities in Maine and across the country are revising plans In the spring semester, in response to concerns about the spread of highly contagious Omicron variants.

Lewiston’s Bates College announced on Wednesday that it will start a new semester remotely and limit its activities, in addition to requiring students to take COVID booster shots. Bates students also need to eat in the dining room and wear face covers indoors.

others, Bowdoin College Brunswick and St. Joseph College in Standish require students to take booster shots.

Hospitalization numbers have not yet been updated on Thursday morning.Number of patients in hospitals in Maine on Wednesday Increased from 330 to 331 on Tuesday.. They are down from the peak of 387 on December 21, but high enough to continue to strain hospital staff and resources. According to state health authorities, about two-thirds of all COVID-19 patients and about 90% of patients in the intensive care unit are unvaccinated.

This week, a federal ambulance crew arrives to help transport patients and release capacity at eight hospitals in the state. However, hospitals are also preparing for more patient potential as highly contagious variants of Omicron become widespread.

Dr. James Jarvis, COVID-19 Incident Commander at Northern Light Health, said at a media briefing Wednesday that it’s hard to predict what the Omicron variant, which is currently the predominant variant in the United States, will mean to hospitals in the coming weeks. Said.

Analysis of inpatients with a surge in Omicron in other countries, and other studies suggest that this variant tends to be less severe than Delta and other variants. However, because Omicron is more contagious, hospitals can still be hit by a surge in patients, Jarvis said.

“The total number of hospitalizations may not decrease. In fact, it may increase,” Jarvis said.

“Scientific juries are still considering what Omicron means in terms of severity,” Shah said.

This story will be updated.

” Previous

Next ”

Related article