Maine added 10,968 COVID-19 cases to it's official count Feb. 15 as it works through a large backlog of tests, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention was overwhelmed during the omicron surge, which caused a test processing backlog over the past several weeks. The state is now using an automated system to clear the backlog, with the large spike in case numbers not an actual reflection of rising infections. The state's positivity rate is dropping, falling from 14.4 percent two weeks ago to 11.3 percent as of Feb. 14. Hospitalizations are also falling, according to state data.
"In recent days, we launched a system to automate a portion of this (case count) process," a spokesperson for the Maine CDC said in a Feb. 14 statement to the Press Herald. "As a result, for several days starting with the update on February 15, the Maine CDC webpage will show a significant increase in the day-to-day tallies of total cases, confirmed cases and probable cases."
Maine has reported 198,665 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.