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A man wearing a mask walks by an empty storefront in Portland on Wednesday Feb. 10, 2021. Troy R. Bennett | BDN
A man wearing a mask walks by an empty storefront in Portland on Wednesday Feb. 10, 2021. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Masks are now recommended in 12 of Maine’s counties

Contributed • August 19, 2021

By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff

Mainers should now wear masks regardless of their vaccination status in 12 of the state’s counties because of the summer surge in COVID-19 cases.

The mask recommendation has been dropped in Cumberland County, where there are now 48.47 cases per 100,000 people as of Thursday, down from 51.52 the day before, according to a Bangor Daily News analysis. That has also been dropped in Sagadahoc County,  where there are now 47.41 cases per 100,000 people, down from 52.99 the day before.

The only other counties exempt from the recommendations are Androscoggin (48.02) and Kennebec (47.42).

Those recommendations remain in force in Aroostook (126.76), Franklin (56.29), Hancock (80.02), Knox (62.86), Lincoln (77.96), Oxford (81.07), Penobscot (173.52), Piscataquis (190.65), Somerset (93.1), Waldo (188.86), Washington (101.98) and York (97.76) counties, data show.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status if there is substantial transmission of the virus in their community, defined as 50 or more cases per 100,000 people at a county level on a weekly basis.

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