York County joins several other Maine counties in the yellow category under the state’s COVID-19 school health advisory system.
The update released Friday afternoon by the administration of Governor Janet Mills moves York County to yellow. Androscoggin, Franklin, Somerset and Washington counties are already yellow, while Cumberland, Hancock, and Kennebec counties remain green but are being closely monitored for rising levels of COVID-19 spread.
The color-coded system is used to make recommendations for schools. A green designation is a recommendation for schools to continue with all in-person learning, yellow suggests a hybrid model, and red is an indication that schooling should be remote only.
The governor’s administration says York County’s positivity rate has risen to 3.5 percent, making it tied for the third highest county positivity rate.
The administration also cited studies in other states and countries that concluded there was no direct evidence of schools playing a significant role in driving transmission of the virus, and that shutting down classrooms poses a risk of serious harm to the wellbeing of children and young people.
