Governor Mills and her administration announced the postponement of reopening bars on Sunday, among other measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The states original plan was to reopen bars Monday November 2nd, but the in the last week the Maine CDC has announced a record breaking number of Covid-19 cases.

Mills also announced the reduction of indoor gathering limits, back to a maximum of 50 people. The gathering limit on outdoor activities remains at 100 people.

To the business owners and employees of bars and tasting rooms, I am deeply sorry that we have been forced to make this decision to postpone your reopening to prevent the further spread of the virus. I know that you were ready and willing to follow public health guidance to keep yourselves and Maine people safe. We realize that this decision will cause hardship. We do not take this action lightly, but the rapid rise in cases in just the past six days means that we cannot in good conscience proceed with the planned reopening,” said Governor Mills in a press release.

My Administration will continue to do all we can to support Maine’s small businesses and hardworking families through these challenging times and will continue to seek further financial relief from Congress for Maine businesses who have lost so much already.

The Mills Administration also recently announced it will distribute 400,000 rapid antigen tests, and testing will be available to the public at no charge as a drive-through service through November.

The Administration says it will continue to evaluate public health metrics to determine when it’s safe to reopen bars and tasting rooms for indoor seated service.