PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine is likely to extend its state of civil emergency, the director of the state Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills declared the civil emergency and later extended it to July 10. The state intends to extend the state of emergency, Maine CDC director Nirav Shah said.
Mills has said the state of emergency allows the state’s government to “deploy all available resources to protect the health and safety of Maine people and to respond quickly and as-needed to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Maine has a relatively low case count compared to other states in the Northeast, and there are good signs that it could stay that way, but state government and residents must remain vigilant, Shah said. The state’s percent positivity rate was below 1% on Tuesday, which was less than the seven-day average, he said.
“There are good signs on the horizon. We must not use this as a reason to celebrate. The positivity rate could go up just as it has gone down,” Shah said.
