Gov. Mills Extends Civil Emergency for 6th Time

Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday extended the state of civil emergency for another 30 days as the state responds to the coronavirus pandemic.

The declaration allows the state to leverage federal funds to help combat the pandemic.

The existing declaration was set to expire on Thursday. The new declaration will expire on Oct. 1.

Nearly every other state has ongoing emergency declarations.

In a statement, Mills praised Mainers for their efforts to date in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the last few months.

"Pandemic fatigue is setting in, but we cannot let down our guard, especially as some of our schools and universities bring students back on campus and back into the classroom. Let's stay focused on the end game: keeping everyone safe and healthy and protected from this dangerous virus," Mills said.

Under Maine law, civil emergency declarations may be issued in 30-day increments.

As of last Tuesday, August 25, adjusted for population, Maine ranked 2nd lowest in the nation in terms of positive cases; 6th lowest in deaths; 2nd lowest in patients ever-hospitalized out of the 36 states reporting; and 6th highest in the percentage of people who have recovered out of the 45 states reporting, according to the governor's office.