Maine Restrictions to Go Back Into Place Due to Surge of COVID-19

On Monday's Maine CDC briefing, Governor Janet Mills spoke about the restrictions that will be put back in place due to Maine's recent surge of COVID-19 cases.

Beginning Wednesday, November 4, indoor gatherings will return to a maximum of 50 people, regardless of capacity, while outdoor activities will remain at 100 people with physical distancing and the use of face coverings.

Also beginning November 4, people traveling from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are no longer exempt from Maine’s quarantine or negative test requirement.

Bars and tasting rooms were scheduled to begin reopening for indoor seated service on November 2, 2020 but that has now been postponed until further notice.

According to the the Maine CDC's Monday update, the cumulative number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Maine is now at 6,799, an increase of 84 since Sunday. 6,039 of those cases are confirmed while 760 are deemed probable.

Over the past seven days, the Maine CDC has reported 545 new cases of COVID-19 with Maine's positivity rate increasing from 0.42% two weeks ago to 1.06% percent.

There was one new death reported of an individual with COVID-19, keeping the total at 148. 495 patients have had to be hospitalized at some point. 29 are currently hospitalized with 8 in intensive care and 1 on a ventilator.

5,588 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered, an increase of 34 since Sunday. The total number of diagnosed active cases of COVID-19 is 1,063, an increase of 49 and the highest number of active cases in Maine since the pandemic began.

Governor Mills has extended the State of Emergency in Maine through November 27, allowing Maine to continue to receive federal funding and use available resources to respond to COVID-19.

An executive order remains in place requiring large retail stores, lodging, restaurants, outdoor bars and tasting rooms to enforce the state's face covering requirement.

You can view the full list of businesses and read the guidelines for each on The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development's website.

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.