AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Amid a surge in infections, the Maine Legislature will follow last year’s safety guidelines — including mandatory masks — next month.

The full Legislature will meet at the State House on Jan. 5 and again on Jan. 26 but other business including committee meetings will be conducted by video conference.

Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, said legislative leaders can’t afford to loosen restrictions now “in the middle of an unbelievable crisis with the COVID-19 surge affecting Maine and New England.” Maine is currently dealing with some of the highest infection rates and hospitalizations since the pandemic began.

“We simply can’t afford to put our families and communities at risk or further stress our hospitals, health care providers and frontline workers,” Jackson said.

House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, said Mainers proved last year that they could fully participate in the legislative process remotely “from every corner of the state–from barns, kitchen tables, garages and shops.”

Masks will be required in the Maine State House unless an individual is alone in an office, socially distanced in a cubicle, or on the third-floor balcony.