Wearing Masks Outdoors No Longer Required in Maine
Governor Mills announced and update today to the outdoor mask mandate, removing the requirement that people wear face coverings in outdoor settings.
“We are updating Maine’s public health guidance to reflect the U.S. CDC’s latest recommendations that indicate the risk of transmitting COVID-19 while outdoors is low, especially as more people get vaccinated,” Mills said in a press release on the Governor's website.
During the Maine CDC's Tuesday update, Dr. Nirav Shah noted that Maine's vaccination rate is one of the highest in the country, allowing Mainers to be outside without masks with lower risk. Shah still asked Mainers to be sensible. "If you're walking down the street and there's no one around you, there's no reason to wear a mask," said Shah. "But if you happen to bump into a group of folks and you're chatting with them, throwing on a mask is an easy thing to do, it's the respectful thing to do too."
The cumulative number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Maine is now at 60,430 an increase of 425 since Monday. 162 of those case diagnoses were received by the Maine CDC on April 27, 250 on April 25 and 13 on April 24. 45,059 of those cases are confirmed while 15,371 are deemed probable.
There were 5 new deaths reported of individuals with COVID-19 bringing the total number of deaths to 777. 1,829 patients have had to be hospitalized at some point. 119 are currently hospitalized with 49 in intensive care and 14 on a ventilator.
613,854 of Mainers age 16 and older have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 483,953 are fully vaccinated. That equates to 43% of Mainers 16 and older that are fully vaccinated and 54.5% that have received the first of two doses of the vaccine. Over 1 million doses in total have been given to Mainers.
Governor Mills has extended the State of Emergency in Maine through May 13, allowing Maine to continue to receive federal funding and use available resources to respond to COVID-19.
On March 5, Governor Mills announced a plan to allow businesses to increase their capacity and removed restrictions on those traveling to and from Maine. All New England states no longer need to show proof of a negative COVID test or quarantine for 14 days when arriving in Maine.
Here's the timeline for relaxing restrictions on number or people allowed in businesses:
- For indoor gatherings, the percentage of capacity increased to 50 percent on March 26 and will increase to 75 percent May 24.
- For outdoor gatherings, the percentage of capacity increased to 75 percent March 26 and will increase to full capacity starting May 24.
- Those businesses that have more capacity under the current policy (50 people for indoor gatherings; 100 people for outdoor gatherings; or 5 people per 1,000 square feet) are permitted to maintain that standard until May 24.
If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, including a runny nose, sore throat, dry cough, fever and in severe cases, difficulty breathing, the Maine CDC says you should call your doctor before going in so that they can prepare for your arrival. The Maine CDC continues to update with new information daily. Keep checking on our mobile app or website to get the latest.