PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills has signed an executive order ending the state’s mask mandate effective next week, ahead of the Memorial Day weekend that marks the unofficial start of the summer tourism season.
The governor originally said her order would allow fully vaccinated Mainers to forgo masks indoors. But the administration decided it would be impossible to differentiate who has been vaccinated.
The executive order signed Wednesday lifts mask requirements for everyone in the state except children 5 and older in school.
The announcement was not unexpected. The state has been reviewing the state’s vaccination rates and changing guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It expands on the elimination of restrictions on the numbers of people indoors that were already set to begin Monday. The governor previously lifted mask requirements while outdoors.
Businesses are free to continue to impose mask mandates and social distancing rules if they choose to do so, but they’re no longer mandated by the state, officials said.
