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Three Maine counties designated yellow under state’s COVID-19 risk advisory system

Three Maine counties designated yellow under state’s COVID-19 risk advisory system

Photo: 560 WGAN Newsradio


Waldo, Somerset, and Washington counties are now in the yellow category under Maine’s color-coded COVID-19 risk advisory system, as coronavirus case numbers continue to climb across the state.

A yellow designation advises a hybrid learning model at schools.

In an update to the state’s risk advisory system released Friday, the administration of Governor Janet Mills said an outbreak connected to a church in Calais prompted a yellow designation for Washington County. The new two-week, population-adjusted case rate is four times higher than it was last week in that county.

The governor’s administration says Waldo County continues to have Maine’s highest per county positivity rate at 3.0% and new case rate of 17.4%. No outbreaks have been identified in Waldo or Washington county schools.

In Somerset County, new cases per capita and the positivity rate have seen a steady rise as well.

All other counties remain green, which allows for all in-person instruction. Most schools in Maine are continuing with a hybrid learning model regardless of their county’s risk color.

The update came the same day the state reported 103 new cases of coronavirus, shattering previous state records for new daily cases and marking the first triple-digit daily increase in Maine since the start of the pandemic.

 

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