Today Governor Mills announced that Maine’s State of Civil Emergency will end on June 30, 2021. The State’s last remaining face covering requirement, which only applies to indoor preK-12 schools and childcare settings, will also end on June 30.

Maine Center Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will continue to strongly recommend, but not require, that unvaccinated people – including those under 12 years of age who are not yet eligible for a COVID vaccine – wear face coverings indoors.

The required health and safety measures within the Framework for Schools will become recommendations on July 1, 2021. The guidance continues to reflect best practice for keeping students and staff safe, and while the emergency will be over, the presence of COVID-19 remains. School administrative units and childcare settings may choose to adopt their own mask or other health and safety requirements, as some businesses have done.

The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Responding to a Positive Case in Schools remains in effect, and therefore all eligible staff and students are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccinated people who are deemed a close contact to a positive case and who are asymptomatic are not required to quarantine.

Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) continues to encourage schools to participate in its free pooled testing program. Those individuals who participate in pooled testing are also exempt from quarantining as a close contact, thereby reducing education disruptions and exclusion from extracurricular activities.

As always, Maine DOE team will remain available to support with updated information and resources as these become available.