PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine’s largest city is considering a return to indoor mask rules due to the rise of COVID-19 in the state.
Portland City Council is scheduled to discuss the possibility of an indoor mask mandate on Sept. 8. The entire state was under an indoor mask mandate until late May, when it was lifted.
A return to a mask mandate would make Portland the first municipality in the state to go that route. The Portland Press Herald reported City Councilor Andrew Zarro requested the workshop because of a surge in cases caused by the delta variant.
The possibility of a new mandate in Portland comes as Maine officials are recommending indoor mask use in almost all of the state.
The state is recommending indoor masking in parts of the state that have substantial or high transmission of the virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that is true of 15 of the 16 counties in the state.
The only county in the state with moderate transmission of the virus is Sagadahoc. No counties are the site of low transmission. Cumberland County, where Portland is located, is the site of substantial transmission.
