Maine
COVID-19 wastewater rates in Maine keep rising alongside hospitalizations
Wastewater concentrations of COVID-19 in Maine’s most populous counties continued to extend final week, suggesting the virus just isn’t letting up with hospitalizations surging.
The newest studies are regarding as a result of wastewater is taken into account a number one indicator of circumstances. An uptick starting in April preceded the hospitalization surge. The rise of concentrations in Maine’s giant inhabitants facilities suggests the virus state of affairs might worsen.
Wastewater in York, Cumberland and Androscoggin counties present ranges of COVID-19 on the highest they’ve been since early February, based on monitoring by the Maine Middle for Illness Management and Prevention and Biobot. Aroostook County continued to report the very best ranges within the state.
The rising ranges come as every day COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine have greater than doubled previously month, as much as 219 as of Monday. The state additionally reported 38 sufferers in vital care and 4 on ventilators.
The seven-day case COVID-19 case price in Maine has additionally continued to rise, though the official case price probably represents an undercount partly due to elevated use of at-home testing. Well being officers have pointed to wastewater testing as a helpful gauge of COVID-19 developments each in Maine and throughout the U.S. as a result of it’s not affected by particular person testing ranges.
Wastewater testing in Maine has proven rising ranges of COVID-19 throughout many of the state since early April. Though ranges have continued to rise in cities comparable to Lewiston and Portland, worsening developments throughout the U.S. imply these municipalities now not rank as poorly in comparison with the nationwide common of websites measured by Biobot as they did a couple of weeks in the past.
The COVID-19 case price nationwide is up 60 p.c previously two weeks, based on the New York Instances, with each state reporting some enhance over that point interval.
An exception to the development in Maine was Bangor, which had reported among the many highest COVID-19 concentrations within the U.S. final month however has seen a drop previously two weeks, state information present.