AUGUSTA, Maine (WGAN) Schools in Franklin County have been moved to the yellow category and Cumberland has been changed to green under the state’s COVID-19 health advisory system.
In Friday’s update, Franklin joined Androscoggin, Oxford and York counties in the yellow category, which recommends the use of a hybrid learning model.
Franklin now has the highest positivity rate out of all the state’s counties.
Governor Janet Mills’ administration says evidence continues to suggest that transmission of coronavirus is lower in schools overall, with the rate of new cases at 34 per 10,000 students and staff, compared to 116 per 10,000 people statewide.
Each category provides a set of suggestions for counties to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in schools, but final decisions are left up to school administrators. The categories are as follows:
- RED: Categorization as “red” suggests that the county has a high risk of COVID-19 spread and that in-person instruction is not advisable.
- YELLOW: Categorization as “yellow” suggests that that the county has an elevated risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider additional precautions and/or hybrid instructional models to reduce the number of people in schools and classrooms at any one time.
- GREEN: Categorization as “green” suggests that the county has a relatively low risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider in-person instruction, as long as they are able to implement the required health and safety measures. Schools in a “green” county may need to use hybrid instruction models if there is insufficient capacity or other factors (facilities, staffing, geography/transportation, etc.) that may prevent full implementation of the health and safety requirements.
