PORTLAND (WGME) – Northern Light Health says it has 71 COVID patients in its Maine hospitals.

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Dr. James Jarvis says these patients need much more care than what they saw during the previous COVID spike back in the winter.

“These people are sicker, they are requiring a lot more medical attention, which means you are pulling staff and resources to care for one individual, and that means they can't care for another individual,” Jarvis said. “And that's what our major concern is across the state."

Jarvis says the majority of people requiring critical care are unvaccinated.