Renewed Mask Guidance Now Only Applies to 1 Maine County

The number of counties where transmission of COVID-19 is substantial enough to prompt a suggestion that residents wear a mask is now reduced to one.

Earlier this week, Governor Janet Mills asked the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to review the U.S. CDC's updated guidelines for face coverings. The result was a suggestion from the Maine CDC that residents of any county where the transmission rate of COVID-19 is 'substantial' wear masks whenever they're in indoor settings. This suggestion applies to both vaccinated and non-vaccinated people.

Originally, the Maine CDC said this suggestion applied to York and Piscataquis counties. But the U.S. CDC's transmission tracker, by county, is updated daily, not weekly. So those suggestions will change frequently. For now, York and Piscataquis counties have been downgraded to 'moderate,' while the transmission rate in Waldo county is now 'substantial.' This means that residents of Waldo county are now encouraged to wear masks whenever they're in public, indoor settings. The transmission status, by county, can be tracked on the U.S. CDC website.

While vaccinated people can still get the Delta variant of COVID-19, the symptoms will not be as severe, according to the Maine CDC. Since it is still possible for vaccinated people to spread the virus to unvaccinated people, health experts are suggesting the wearing of masks where transmission is substantial. This is a suggestion and not a requirement, so it will be up to individual businesses in affected areas to decide whether they want to modify their mask policies.

5 Maine Oceanside Rentals

Planning a getaway on the coast of Maine, but you don't want to stay in a hotel? Check out these unique oceanside rental options from Airbnb. Keep in mind that terms, offerings, and prices may have changed since this article was written.

The General Stores Of Downeast Maine

These are the long-time general stores that are spread throughout downeast Maine. The stores that your grandparents picked up milk, beer, and that night's dinner at. For years they had been filled with things like fly paper, clothes, beef jerky, and that morning's newspaper. Now, you stop by for that slice of breakfast pizza, a tasty fried chicken sandwich for lunch, gas,and a handful of lottery tickets.

They're an important part of Maine's heritage, and their numbers are starting to dwindle. But we still frequent them to pick up the day's necessities and to keep up on town gossip.

They may not be owned by the original owners, and they may not look the same as they did years and years ago. But that same hometown feeling is there, the minute you set foot on their wooden floors. More than likely the same wooden floors that your grandparents set foot on.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

Filed Under: Coronavirus

Categories: Articles, Health, Local News, Maine, News