The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine has declined by nine, state public health authorities reported on Sunday.

Even as infections of BA.2 omicron subvariant of the virus have increased, the number of people hospitalized continues to be relatively stable.

There were 91 people hospitalized statewide with the coronavirus on Sunday, 15 of whom were in critical care units and three on ventilators, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. On Saturday 100 people were hospitalized with the infectious disease. Doctors have said most of those hospitalized with the virus were not fully vaccinated.

The Maine CDC’s statistics showed there were 437 new cases on Saturday. Since the pandemic began there have been 240,086 cases in the  state. However, those numbers likely represent a significant undercount since many people with COVID-19 have taken at-home tests whose results were not reported to the state.

A total of 2,276 people have died with COVID-19 in Maine since the pandemic began. No additional deaths were reported on Friday and Saturday. The Maine CDC typically does not update new cases and additional deaths on Sundays and Mondays.

With the BA.2 subvariant spreading in the Northeast, five Maine counties – Aroostook, Piscataquis, Penobscot, Washington and Hancock – are now in the yellow, or moderate risk, category, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is a change from last week, and a sign that BA.2 is spreading. Last week only one Maine county, Aroostook, was in the yellow category.

Cumberland and the 10 other counties remain in the green, or low risk, category. However, that designation does not mean that the virus is not circulating in those counties. The green label indicates infections in those counties are not expected to put a strain on hospitals or lead to an overwhelming number of sick patients with COVID-19.

Statewide, 73.97 percent of Maine’s 1.34 million population has been fully vaccinated, and 653,771 booster shots have been given, the state reported on Saturday. The new number of booster doses is 2,737 more than reported on Friday, according to the Maine CDC.

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