Covid Update 1/3

Let’s get the bad news over with first. This past week, our community set another one-week record for new cases of Covid-19, with a total of 94 new cases. 80 of those were in Sanford and 14 were in Springvale. This is up from last week’s total of 69 new cases. Two weeks ago, we set the previous record with 82 new cases.

With data as of December 27, the cumulative total of Covid-19 cases is 498 in Sanford, 111 in Springvale, for a total of 609 cases since the pandemic began last spring.

In the past two weeks, there have been a total of 1670 confirmed and probable new cases of the virus in York County as a whole, with data as of January 2. The cumulative total for York County now stands at 5,443.

The good news is that Maine is leading New England, and is third in the U.S., in vaccination rates. Here in Sanford, progress is being made on protecting our most vulnerable residents. Pinnacle Health & Rehab, with help from CVS, administered the first dose of the vaccine to 97% of residents and about 70% of staff on January 2. Residents and staff at the Newton Center will begin receiving the Covid vaccine on Tuesday, January 5.

Emergency room personnel at the Sanford Medical Center have also received their first dose of the vaccine. Vaccination of other Southern Maine Health Care team members will continue over the next few weeks, and all SMHC staff are eligible to receive the vaccine.

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