PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s governor on Tuesday extended a state of emergency order prompted by the coronavirus outbreak until the middle of May.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills declared a state of civil emergency about a month ago and extended it to May 15 on Tuesday. The proclamation authorized Mills to use emergency powers to expand the state’s response to the virus.
Mills said extending the order also allows her to lengthen the state’s stay-at-home order, which is currently scheduled to end at the close of April. She said it’s critically important for state residents to continue sheltering at home to halt the spread of the virus.
“I sure wish that this proclamation was not necessary, but the continued spread of this deadly virus demands our sustained response,” she said.
The original state of emergency order had been scheduled to end on Wednesday. Maine has been the site of 734 cases of the virus. Twenty people have died.
More on virus-related developments in Maine:
GOVERNORS COORDINATING
Mills also said she has been in talks with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, who are both Republicans, about how to restart the economy of northern New England when it’s safe to do so. She said the governors are talking about “how and when to lift any restrictions,” and that such a move would be based on scientific evidence.
Mills said it was too early to say how soon the economies of the states could reopen. The states share several common industries, including tourism, skiing, dairy farming and maple syrup production.
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LACK OF DATA
Maine health officials have been given high marks from the public for their response to the pandemic, but the state lags behind others in the region in reporting some key pieces of data.
Maine is the only New England state unable to provide daily reports on the number of people who have been tested for the virus, the Portland Press Herald reported Tuesday.
And the state disclosed the number of non-resident COVID-19 cases only once, on April 9, even though Maine has the highest proportion of vacation homes in the country. Two other states with large numbers of seasonal residents — Hawaii and Florida — post information on non-resident cases daily, the newspaper reported.
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Robert Long said part of the problem with the lack of daily testing numbers is that outside labs are conducting tests, making it harder to get a handle on the figure.
Due to “the varying frequency and formats that outside labs use in submitting negative test results,” the agency had decided that weekly reporting “ensures the reliability and accuracy of these data,” he told the newspaper in an email.
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SHIPYARD LEAVE
Members of the Maine and New Hampshire Congressional delegations sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense about a federal policy they feel puts public shipyard workers at risk. The delegation members said an updated policy reduces paid administrative leave options that are available to the workers during the pandemic. They wrote the new policy creates “impediments or disincentives for sick or high-risk workers to stay home if necessary.”
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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Maine’s Roman Catholic schools will continue remote learning for the rest of the academic year.
The decision followed a recommendation by Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin to continue distance learning for public schools.
“This is especially disappointing for the seniors at Saint Dominic Academy and Cheverus High School. We are working to develop creative ways in which we can provide these hard-working students with the end-of-year recognition they deserve,” said Marianne Pelletier, superintendent of Maine Catholic Schools.
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