LincolnHealth reported 97 COVID-19 cases from 687 tests over the past three weeks. Numbers rose significantly between the weeks of July 11 and 18 with percent positive tests increasing from 9.43% to 15.89%. The week of July 25 saw positive cases decrease to 12.9% of tests, but rose again to 14.5% for the week of Aug. 1.

LincolnHealth’s John Martins said the week of July 18 marked the highest percent positive since April and the second highest since January. July brought 127 positive cases or a 76% rise from June’s numbers with an increase of 13.5% for tests, he said. LincolnHealth has performed over 13,000 tests since the beginning of 2022 and there have been just over 1,800 positive tests for a 13.8% rate.

“Kudos to our teams for supporting testing and to the NorDx laboratory for processing the many tests across the MaineHealth system.”

The Maine Center for Disease Control Community Transmission Map dropped Lincoln County from high levels of transmission to substantial during the week of July 25; however, the county was raised back to high levels for the week of Aug. 1. Said Martins, “Transmission levels are what healthcare facilities use to determine infection control intervention … We continue to monitor this data closely and encourage people who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine to call your primary care physician and make an appointment.”

There is also online registration for COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters at vaccine.mainehealth.org.