The number of people in critical care beds with COVID-19 in Maine has reached its highest point since the pandemic started.
According to data released Thursday, the number of people in Maine who are in the ICU with coronavirus reached 74. 193 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 38 of those people on ventilators.
Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention also reported another 620 cases and five deaths in Thursday’s coronavirus update.
It comes as health officials continue processing a backlog of positive test results. For that reason, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah says we can expect high case numbers in the coming days.
The state’s seven-day average of new daily case dipped slightly to 358 on Thursday, compared to roughly 316 a week ago. That number was 204 two weeks ago.
Health officials say that, generally, between 70 and 75 percent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine are not fully vaccinated against the virus. Dr. Shah says that rate is much higher, between 90 and 95 percent, among coronavirus patients in ICU beds.
