LincolnHealth performed 960 COVID-19 tests in September, the first time this year the total has been less than 1,000 in a month since January, according to hospital spokesperson John Martins.
In September, LincolnHealth performed 960 COVID-19 tests with 122 positives, for a positivity rate of 12.8%. This is in contrast to January, when 4,250 tests were done with 990 positives, for a positivity rate of 23.30%. For the year-to-date, the positivity rate is 14.67%, Martins said in an email.
“Test numbers reflect only tests here at LincolnHealth. The availability and reliability of at-home tests have definitely led to a reduction in tests, as has the change in testing protocols during the time span,” Martins said in an email.
From Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, 267 tests were done with 37 positives, for a positivity rate of 13.96%. This is down from a positivity rate of 16% last week.
LincolnHealth is offering the new bivalent COVID-19 booster shot, which contains components of the original COVID-19 strain as well as the omicron variant.
LincolnHealth offers the COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 6 months and older.
Call the MaineHealth Vaccine Assistant at 1-877-780-7545 or email vaccine@mainehealth.org for an appointment. An appointment is preferred and can be made by calling a Lincoln Medical Partners office or by visiting vaccine.mainehealth.org.
“People can call their primary care doctor with any questions,” Martins has said of the new booster shot.
Booster shots can also be obtained at one of LincolnHealth’s upcoming flu shot clinics, but the patient will have to be observed for 15 minutes for signs of any side effects.
MaineHealth is maintaining a database of COVID-19 information that can be accessed at mainehealth.org/coronavirus-COVID-19/what-to-do.
The health system also recommends staying home when sick, testing for COVID-19 in the event of symptoms or contact with a COVID-19-positive person, and seeking care when necessary.
According to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data current through Tuesday, Oct. 4, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 6,405 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus – 5,373 confirmed cases and 1,032 probable.
The number of deaths in Lincoln County residents stayed at 40.
The number of residents who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic rose by one to 97.
Lincoln County has a “moderate to high” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 243,884.62. The number does not represent fully vaccinated individuals and, since the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both require two doses, the number can be higher than 100,000.
The census data for Lincoln County provided by the Maine CDC lists a population of 34,634. Of those residents, 27,089, or 78.22%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 28,031, or 80.93%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data.
A total of 84,467 doses of vaccine have been administered, up 1,409 doses from last week. Those counted in the final dose category have either received the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
There have been 29,347 additional or booster shots given to Lincoln County residents.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of Oct. 4, the Maine CDC has reported 289,066 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 1,888 from the week before. Of those cases, 81,578 are probable.
There have been 5,878 hospitalizations in the state, including 92 reported in the past week. There have been 2,586 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including nine reported in the last week. The statewide case rate is 2,173.9 per 10,000 people, up from 2,159.8 last week.
