AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Maine’s education commissioner is recommending that schools plan to continue online learning programs for the remainder of the school year.

Commissioner Pender Makin said her recommendation was based on guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends avoiding in-person instruction for eight to 20 weeks once there is evidence of community spread of the new coronavirus.

In Maine, more than 500 people have tested positive for the virus, and a dozen people have died from COVID-19, the disease it causes.