COVID-19 pandemic in Maine

On March 2, 2020, Governor Janet Mills convened a coronavirus response team, led by Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, to coordinate state efforts against the virus.[9] The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention began its response efforts in December 2019 when the virus was first reported in Wuhan, China.[9]

After the first case was reported on March 12, 2020, Governor Janet Mills declared a health insurance emergency to insure private insurance coverage of coronavirus testing, recommended postponing gatherings of more than 250 people for at least 30 days, and suspended all non-essential out-of-state travel by state employees for 30 days.[10]

On March 15, 2020, Governor Janet Mills declared a civil state of emergency which allows the governor to establish emergency reserves of products, allows the state to access federal funding to combat the outbreak, and allows for suspension of certain laws.[11] Governor Mills recommended halting classroom instruction in Maine and stopping all gatherings of more than 50 people, or more than 10 people if senior citizens were involved in the gathering.[11] She also recommended postponing non-urgent medical procedures, doctors appointments, and elective surgeries, and restricting visitors to long-term healthcare facilities.[12]

On March 16, 2020, Maine was one of the first states to have its application for the United States Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan approved, which would help businesses in Maine recover financial losses due to coronavirus closures.[13] On March 16, Governor Mills also called for all Saint Patrick's Day events to be cancelled throughout the state.[14] The Maine Legislature also enacted a supplemental budget of $73 million which focused on coronavirus response, including $1 million to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, $15 million to increase MaineCare reimbursement rates for health care providers, and $38 million to K-12 education to help in the wake of school closures.[15]

On March 17, 2020, Governor Mills issued a Declaration of Abnormal Market Disruption, which prohibits specific essential items from being sold at unconscionable prices, including paper products, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, and medical supplies.[16] Governor Mills also announced an emergency measures package which was approved by the legislature to provide $11 million in state funding for COVID-19 response, expand State and local authorities to allow greater flexibility in virus response, and to provide additional support to impacted workers.[17]

On March 18, 2020, Governor Mills issued an executive order which mandated all bars and restaurants close to dine-in customers, but allowed take-out, delivery, and drive-through to continue.[18] All gatherings of 10 or more people were prohibited, and non-essential businesses such as gyms, hair-salons, casinos, and malls were urged to close to minimize gatherings in public.[18]

On March 19, 2020 Governor Mills wrote a letter to Vice President Mike Pence and the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar to request for more personal protective equipment be released to the state of Maine from the Strategic National Stockpile.[19] She also convened a conference call with Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, Representative Chellie Pingree, and Representative Jared Golden to discuss the State response to the pandemic.[20] Additionally, Governor Mills signed an executive order to require school districts to continue paying hourly employees for the duration of the school year.[21]

On March 19, the City of Bangor announced that the Community Connector bus service would begin only allowing people to enter from the rear of the bus to encourage social distancing beginning on March 20. Passengers using walkers and wheelchairs were allowed to board from the front of the bus. As more social distancing practices were put into effect, the City of Bangor began using an honor system for the bus service and asked that passengers not occupy the seats directly behind the driver.[22][23]

On March 20, 2020, Governor Mills opened waters to inland fishing and suspended license requirements until April 30 to encourage individuals to go outside during the pandemic.[24] She wrote a letter to President Donald Trump to request financial assistance, subsidies, operating loans, or other measures to support the seafood industry, fishermen, and aquaculture.[25] She also issued an executive order which would allow licensed physicians, physician assistants, and nurses who were licensed in another state to be issued an emergency Maine license valid through the declared state of emergency.[12]

On March 23, 2020, Governor Mills passed an executive order that extended expiration dates and waived fees for driver's licenses and other related motor vehicle licenses until 30 days past the state of emergency.[12]

On March 24, 2020, Governor Mills ordered all non-essential businesses to close their physical locations and cease in-person contact and urged all essential businesses to limit the number of individuals in stores at any given time.[26]

On March 24, the City of Portland announced that the manager has signed a stay-at-home order beginning on March 25 for all non-essential businesses and services in Portland, with a potential end date on April 27.[27] On March 26, the City of South Portland also announced a similar order beginning March 27 except for permitted activities.[28]

On March 30, Maine Governor Janet Mills issued "a Stay Healthy at Home directive that requires people living in Maine to stay at home at all times unless for an essential job or an essential personal reason, such as obtaining food, medicine, health care, or other necessary purposes."[29]

On April 10, Gov. Mills rescheduled Maine's congressional and legislative primary elections from June 9, 2020, to July 14. Mills' executive order also expanded the ability to request absentee ballots, which may now be done up to and on election day.[30]

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry closed 10 coastal state parks as overcrowding at those parks made social distancing difficult. The Department said it would monitor the remaining state parks, most of which were still closed for the winter though walk-ins are permitted.[31] Baxter State Park, a park independent of the state park system, announced it would close until at least July 1, only permitting walk-in day hikes.[32] Acadia National Park announced it would close indefinitely to prevent first responders from being exposed to the virus in the event of an injury and to prevent travel by visitors to the area.[33]

The Maine public university system includes the University of Maine campus in Orono, The University of Maine at Augusta, The University of Maine at Farmington, The University of Maine at Fort Kent, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, the University of Maine at Machias, the University of Southern Maine, and the University of Maine School of Law.[35] The University of Maine system announced that all courses would be administered via remote learning starting March 25, 2020, with the Law School resuming classes on March 23, 2020.[36] The 90% of students who vacated their residence halls were eligible for tuition rebates on a case-by-case basis.[36] Commencement ceremonies across the university system originally scheduled for May 9, 2020 were postponed, and each individual university will designate a postponement date.[37]

The University of Maine system created the Maine Welcome program to offer in-state tuition to students at other colleges and universities who may have had their studies disrupted by closures of academic institutions due to COVID-19.[38] 98.5% of students who were enrolled in University of Maine system campuses at the start of the semester completed their studies despite COVID-19 disruptions.[39] The University of Maine system formed a Fall 2020 Safe Return Planning Committee and will plan to return to in-person instruction by the end of August and will invest $97 million in institutional aid that does not need to be repaid by students or their families.[40] To support hybrid learning models that comply with social distancing requirements, the University of Maine system will spend $2.56 million for classroom IT upgrades.[41]

On March 16, 2020, Maine Maritime Academy announced that it would discontinue on-campus instruction and move to remote instruction.[42] Summer cruises for the TS State of Maine and the Bowdoin ships were postponed, and students registered to complete a cruise in the summer will have to seek alternative opportunities.[43]

Bowdoin College announced on March 11, 2020 that students would not be permitted to return to campus from spring break and that the remainder of the semester would be conducted by remote learning.[44] As of March 25, 2020 four cases of coronavirus were confirmed among the campus community.[45] On March 13, 2020 The University of New England announced that all competitive athletics were canceled for the spring season and that all courses would move online for the spring semester, excluding advanced Dental Hygiene and advanced Nursing student courses.[46] On March 22, 2020, The University of New England announced that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19 and on March 24, 2020, the university announced that it would postpone its commencement ceremonies.[46] The Board of Trustees of the University of New England made the decision to not increase tuition, fees, and room and board costs for the 2020-2021 academic year in light of the pandemic.[46] On May 4, 2020, the University of New England reported that it would reopen its campus in time for the fall semester, and on May 18, 2020, it was announced that virtual graduation events would be held the weekend of June 12-14, 2020.[46] Colby College announced that all on-campus classes would end the week of March 12, 2020 and students would move off campus.[47] All events, performances, and athletic matches were canceled at Colby College beginning on March 15, 2020.[48] On March 19, 2020, a staff member in the Colby College department of athletics was the college's first positive case.[49] On March 26, 2020, there were five total members of the Colby College community, including at least two students, who had tested positive for the virus.[50]

Students of Bates College were asked to leave campus on March 14, 2020 and the college transitioned to remote work models on March 17, 2020.[51] As of March 25, 2020 there were two confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bates College faculty members.[51] Bates College has taken a financial loss of up to $2 million as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[52] On March 12, 2020, The College of the Atlantic announced that all instruction for spring 2020 would move to an online format, residence halls would be closed, and all in-person services would be eliminated.[53] Maine College of Art closed all academic buildings to students on March 15, 2020 and announced on March 29, 2020 that the remainder of the spring term would be conducted online.[54][55] Saint Joseph's College of Maine has transitioned all classroom instruction to online formats and held a virtual commencement ceremony on May 9, 2020.[56] On March 13, 2020, Husson University announced that it would move the majority of classes to online formats, with some exceptions for graduate and professional school courses, and on March 20, 2020 the university announced that it would postpone its commencement ceremonies.[57] On March 15, 2020, in-person instruction was suspended at Thomas College, courses transitioned to online formats, and it was announced that campus residences were closing on March 18, 2020.[58] There have been no COVID-19 cases on the Thomas College campus and the institution plans to resume in-person classes in the fall.[58]

Unity College began remote instruction on March 30, 2020, but has planned on on-campus commencement ceremony for August 1, 2020.[59][60] The Maine College of Health Professions suspended clinical courses on March 13, 2020.[61] In response to the need for nurses during the pandemic, the Maine College of Health Professions re-opened its application for an Associates Degree in Nursing program until June 1, 2020, and waived the requirement for HESI exam scores.[62] The Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts postponed all summer 2020 residency programs and will offer online instruction during the summer.[63]

On March 12, 2020, Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) chose to extend its Spring Break and on March 17, 2020, the decision was made to move all courses to an online format, close residence halls, and cancel all gatherings of more than ten people.[64] Students will be allowed to convert letter grades into pass/fail grades at the end of the term.[64] On April 1 2020, the President of SMCC, Joe Cassidy, made the decision to host a virtual commencement ceremony.[64] SMCC will also hold all summer classes online.[65] Short-term workforce training including an online pharmacy technician training and professional education online licenses in areas such as business, data analysis, finance, and human resources were also made available by SMCC to those impacted by the pandemic.[66]

Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC) announced an extended spring break on March 13, 2020.[67] On March 16 2020, EMCC dining halls were closed for in-person dining, the number of students allowed to be in common areas such as the library and student center was limited, student housing was closed, and the decision was made to move courses online.[67] Central Maine Community College (CMCC) announced an extension of spring break on March 12, 2020, closing of non-academic services on March 16, 2020, and movement to online courses on March 17, 2020.[68][69][70] CMCC announced that all summer classes will be online on April 16, 2020 and informed students of financial assistance available through the Federal CARES Act on May 20, 2020.[71][72]

On March 12, 2020, Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) announced a spring break extension.[73] KVCC updated students on the movement to online course formats on March 18, 2020, and announced on March 31, 2020 that commencement plans would be modified.[73] York County Community College has also moved all classes online and on May 20, 2020, announced a postponement of their spring 2020 commencement ceremony.[74][75] Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) discontinued face-to-face classroom instruction on March 18th, 2020 and also canceled their spring 2020 commencement ceremony.[76] On April 12, 2020, NMCC began enrolling students in four free online healthcare career path training programs to address pandemic workforce needs.[77] Washington County Community College moved all their courses online as of March 17, 2020.[78]

The Maine Community College System is prepared to host fall classes online or in person, or a combination of both formats.[79]

The Maine Department of Transportation said that since the stay at home order issued by Gov. Mills, traffic on state roads had declined by double digits. This was the case especially in urban areas, though MDOT did not release specific figures as they were incomplete.[80]

MaineDOT has been able to schedule more daytime road work due to the reduced traffic caused by the pandemic, which means expensive night work is not necessary, saving costs. Such projects include maintenance on several Portland-area bridges on Interstate 295, which can now occur at daytime due to a 60 percent traffic reduction from normal levels.[81]

The Maine Turnpike Authority said it was paying all of its employees two weeks of administrative leave, and workers who continued to report to work would still be given it, effectively doubling their pay. A union leader called the arrangement "good" and said that worker's spirits were high as a result.[82] The Authority announced that drivers uncomfortable with handing cash to a toll collector would not be penalized for using the EZ Pass only lanes and paying tolls online or by mail. A decision on waiving cash tolls would be made based on guidance from government health officials.[82] Traffic counts had decreased by 20 percent in the immediate aftermath of the stay at home order, with weekend traffic falling 50 percent. This decrease was due almost exclusively to declines in passenger cars using the road, as commercial traffic only declined 1 percent. It was unclear how the traffic decrease would affect the Turnpike's finances, though executive director Peter Mills said he would recommend to the Authority's board that they go ahead with a vote on a $28 million contract to widen five miles of the highway.[80]

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority announced a suspension of all remaining Amtrak Downeaster service, to begin April 13 and last until April 30, after two prior service reductions.[83] On average, 20 passengers had been using the one remaining round trip to Boston.[84]

Boardings at the Portland International Jetport dropped by 70 percent compared to the prior year for the week ending March 21.[80]