COVID-19 patients in ICU wards reach new high in Maine

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The number of patients in intensive care units rose to the highest point since the start of pandemic Thursday in Maine, which reported another 620 infections and five additional deaths.

All told, there were 193 people receiving treatment for COVID-19 in hospitals across the state with 74 patients in critical care and 38 connected to ventilators, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control.

The daily number of infections represented an alarming jump, but could have included data over several days instead of a 24-hour period.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Maine has risen over the past two weeks from 175 new cases per day on Aug. 24 to 359 new cases per day on Sept. 7, officials said.

Hospitals are feeling the strain. MaineHealth announced this week that some elective surgeries were being postponed so staff could deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.