What does COVID surge mean for proms, graduations in NH, Maine? We asked Seacoast doctors.

Coronavirus cases are rising again in New Hampshire and Maine, just as prom and graduation season is here.

So what should people do now?

"A lot depends on the level of risk you are willing to take," said Dr. Evangeline Thibodeau, an infectious disease doctor at York Hospital in Maine, where the COVID-19 case rate has recently been among the highest in nation.

In New Hampshire, Dr. David Itkin, an infectious disease expert at Appledore Medical Center in Portsmouth, emphasized the tools available to slow the spread of the virus.

"COVID is preventable now if we continue taking precautions, if we get the vaccinations and the boosters," Itkin said. "We are still seeing post-COVID syndrome, some cases that are fairly debilitating. The guidance from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) still indicates we can't be footloose and fancy free just yet."

This includes wearing masks in crowds.

"But will they wear them at proms and graduations?" Itkin added. "I doubt it."

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Thibodeau said the current rate of transmission indicates people should be wearing a mask when in a crowd or a public place. She said it is not what she is seeing as proms and graduations arrive.

"Teens are young, healthy and hopefully vaccinated," she said. "They are old enough that I hope they are considering their risk level and acting accordingly. It is all about your individual risk assessment."

In 2021, graduations were mostly held outdoors and the graduates, parents and school staff wore masks. For the most part, it was required. This year, that is not the case, for the most part.

As people have grown tired of the pandemic and fewer people are getting seriously ill from the virus, many COVID mitigation factors are being abandoned. But COVID numbers are rising daily again, mostly due to the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron. Big gatherings like graduations and proms pose the same risk for contracting the virus, if not the same risk of hospitalization or death, experts say.

Whenever possible, having big events outdoors is the best answer, Seacoast doctors said.

"Indoor ceremonies, with parents and grandparents sitting side by side on bleachers, is not the best scenario," Itkin said. "The graduates are young, healthy and likely vaccinated. The risk for them is smaller because they are more likely to get past COVID if they catch it. It would be the older generation I would have the most concern for."

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Gatherings like after parties should be approached with caution.

"It goes without saying everyone should be immunized," Itkin said. "Masks might be a hard sell, but consider who will be there, who will be exposed."

In Maine, Bangor schools returned to a universal mask requirement on Monday. And officials in Portland, the largest school district in the state, announced Tuesday mandatory masks are returning this week.

The seven-day rolling average of daily known new COVID-19 cases in Maine rose over the past two weeks from 278 cases per day on April 24 to 752 cases per day on May 8.

New Hampshire reported an average of 516 known cases per day from May 3-9, an increase of 31% over the previous seven-day period.

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The BA.2 subvariants are resulting in higher case counts in New Hampshire and Maine and all Northeastern states at the moment, but there are major differences from when the Omicron variant and the Delta variant before that drove high hospitalization numbers and deaths.

Most people now are vaccinated and boosted or have immunity after contracting the virus. And the people getting sick are getting much less severe cases than when the Delta variant was predominant because that was virulent and dangerous. Hospitals were overwhelmed and people died.

Thibodeau said the numbers of positive cases are not as easy to track now, partly because a lot of testing is done at home or elsewhere.

"I can look at employee infections as a decent measure of the community," Thibodeau said, referring to York Hospital. "In January, I was seeing 10 new cases a day. Then it was down to 2-3 a week. That number is going up again. I look at how many patients are calling the outpatient center, how many are coming to the hospital, because we test them all no matter what they are coming in for."

In the region, infection rates have continuously been rated substantial. Thibodeau said we have never gone into the low range.

"The numbers are continuing to rise," Itkin said. "The good news is that hospitalizations seem steady at this point, with no great rise in admissions."

The reason for that, said Itkin, is that Omicron and its related variants, like BA.2, have not shown themselves to be as virulent as was the Delta variant of the original COVID strain.

"People are not getting as sick," Itkin said. "That's also in part because people are vaccinated and boosted. They are just not going to get as sick if they catch the new strains, and they can still catch it."

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Martha Wassell, director of Infection Prevention at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, said while numbers are up in the community, New England and across the country, their hospitalizations are relatively stable.

"What needs to be stressed is the continuation of vaccines and boosters," she said. "They remain our best defense. Get them ahead of time to have the lowest threshold possible for transmission."

What precautions can we all take?

Wassell said if you think you have COVID, test and find out for sure.

"There are colds, flu, seasonal allergies circulating," she said. "COVID can be sneaky, especially the new variants. If you have any doubt, take the test, wear the mask. You do not want to infect others. Testing kits are readily available now. Use them. Reduce the risk for severe transmission. And remember masks and good hand hygiene really do work."

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Thibodeau said the type of mask is important.

"N95s are best, but can be hard to get and hard to wear for a long time," she said. "KN95 are good and are easier to get and to wear. I don't know if teens will wear a mask for graduation or prom but if yes, they should try to get a good quality mask."

Wassell suggested having a conversation about your plans with a primary care provider.

"Ask them if oral remedies should be used if needed," she said. "Have a plan in place for you and your family."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: COVID surges as proms, graduations arrive in Seacoast NH, Maine