Masks are now recommended in all but 2 Maine counties
By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff
Mainers should again wear masks regardless of their vaccination status in Kennebec County because of the summer surge in COVID-19 cases.
There are now 55.6 cases per 100,000 people in Kennebec County as of Tuesday, up from 47.42 the day before, according to a Bangor Daily News analysis.
Only Androscoggin (47.1) and Sagadahoc (25.1) counties are exempt from the mask recommendation.
Those recommendations remain in force in Aroostook (135.71), Cumberland (51.52), Franklin (99.34), Hancock (94.57), Knox (55.32), Lincoln (69.3), Oxford (58.65), Penobscot (136.71), Piscataquis (285.97), Somerset (103), Waldo (98.2), Washington (92.42) and York (104.99) 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.