The number of coronavirus patients admitted to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor has continued to peak during the last few days of 2020, although the numbers have flattened slightly at other hospitals in the state.
A record high of 55 coronavirus patients was admitted to Bangor Hospital on New Year’s Eve, which, according to data from parent organization Northern Light Health, accounts for nearly a third of the state’s approximately 177 daily virus hospitalizations.
An average of 52 patients have been hospitalized every day in EMMC – the state’s second largest hospital – in the past week, compared to 44 in the week before Christmas and 27 in the week before.
The increase comes in the state’s largest hospital, Maine Medical Center in Portland, with an average of just 32 patients last week.
The total number of coronavirus patients hospitalized in Maine also declined slightly from a record high of 198 on December 14, according to the COVID detection project. That was an average of 183 last week.
However, some health officials have expressed concern that indoor gatherings and travel from the Christmas and New Year holidays in the coming weeks could contribute to new waves of infections, even as health workers and nursing home residents begin vaccinating.
At EMMC, officials recently placed new restrictions on family visits to patients to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. The hospital also had to contain a recent coronavirus outbreak that infected at least 48 people, including some patients in a surgical unit after surgery. However, the hospital said some cases are also caused by workers detecting the virus in the community.
So far, the hospital has not had to take dramatic steps to release staff and capacity, such as systematically postponing other procedures such as mammograms and colonoscopies, said Suzanne Spruce, spokeswoman for Northern Light Health.
‘Our increasing numbers in Northern Light Health [hospitals] and specifically at the Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center is, of course, an ongoing concern, ”Spruce said. “At the moment, we are able to maintain our critical and routine services, but continue to monitor bed capacity, staff and other resources and will adapt accordingly.”
Spruce also reiterates the need for Mainers to take steps to limit the spread of coronavirus and reduce the risk of more workers or people becoming ill, including ‘wearing face masks in public, avoiding gatherings outside their household, practice good hand hygiene and stay at least six feet apart. ”