PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Baxter State Park is reopening for day visits.
The park on Monday is opening Togue Pond and Matagamon gates for vehicle access on the park’s Tote Road.
But camp sites and cabins don’t open until July 1. Bunkhouses, which sleep eight to 10 people in congregate living, will remain closed for the summer.
The easing of restriction by the Baxter Park Authority come as the Mills administration moves to reopen the economy.
Other state parks and campgrounds already opened, but the Baxter State Park is run by an independent authority.
Maine has had more than 2,800 cases of the virus and 101 deaths. The state recorded its first coronavirus-related death in nearly a week on Monday.
In other coronavirus-related news:
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BATES-STUDENTS
Bates College will reopen this fall to students.
College President Clayton Spencer told alumni the college intends to open for students in early September and to send them home before Thanksgiving. They’ll take finals remotely.
Among other changes: The college intends to divide the semester into two parts, with students taking two courses during each, to limit the disruption if the virus causes another closure.
“It’s just going to be done with masks and a lot of hand sanitizer,” Spencer joked during the online speech over the weekend, according to the Sun Journal.
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