Augusta, MAINE – The Mills Administration announced today that the State of Maine will follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (U.S. CDC) updated face covering guidance, which recommends that:

1. all people, regardless of vaccination status, wear face coverings in indoor, public settings in areas with “substantial” or “high” levels of community transmission; and
2. all teachers, staff, and students in K-12 schools wear face coverings, regardless of vaccination status or community transmission level.

According to the U.S. CDC, York and Piscataquis counties have “substantial” levels of community transmission at this time, which means that individuals should wear face coverings in indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status. Maine’s other 14 counties currently have “moderate” levels of community transmission according to the U.S. CDC and are thus not subject to the first recommendation. The U.S. CDC determines level of community transmission based on the number of cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people and the percentage of tests in the last 7 days that have a positive result.

Consistent with Maine’s recent approach to COVID-19-related policy and the expiration of the State of Civil Emergency, these changes are recommendations, not requirements.