Risk rises for south Maine schools

Outbreak causes state to advise precautions

ALFRED, Maine — An outbreak of the coronavirus at a Maine jail that is linked to another outbreak at a wedding poses enough of a risk that schools in the southern part of the state should take more precautions, state education officials said.

The administration of Gov. Janet Mills said Friday that York County schools have been designated as facing higher risk than the rest of the state. York, Maine’s southernmost county, is home to an outbreak of more than 80 cases at an Alfred jail as well as other outbreaks.

The jail cases overlap with a larger outbreak centered on a wedding reception in Millinocket, in the northern part of the state, that has sickened more than 140 people and killed three in total. State officials have said a jail employee attended the August reception.

Maine uses a color-coded system to describe the virus risk faced by school districts in the state. Every county had been designated green, the lowest risk, but the Mills administration moved York County to yellow, which means elevated risk, on Friday.

“This change in classification is made out of an abundance of caution and for the consideration of school administrative units in York

County in their decisions to deliver instruction,” the Maine Department of Education said in a statement.

The administration of Mills, a Democrat, said Friday that the state recategorized York in part because its positivity rate of 1.8 percent is three times the state average.

All schools in York County already plan to start the school year under hybrid learning models, the Maine Department of Education said. The new yellow risk designation also advises the districts to take additional

precautions, the education department said.

All other counties in Maine are under the green designation.

Maine’s annual celebration of organic farming and rural living will still take place this year, but it will be an online event.

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association said the Common Ground Country Fair is slated to take place online from Sept. 25-27. The event typically draws thousands of people to Unity.

Robert F. Bukaty The Associated Press Beachgoers play in the surf, Friday at Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah is encouraging residents to exercise caution during the Labor Day weekend, even though outdoor activities are safer in terms of the spread of the virus.