Department of Education closely monitoring Piscataquis County following case rate increase

AUGUSTA — The Mills Administration on March 12 released an update to its color-coded Health Advisory System that classifies counties’ relative risk of COVID-19 transmission to assist schools as they continue with their plans to deliver instruction and support to students safely.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention continue to review evidence that indicates lower transmission of COVID-19 in schools compared to the general population. Over the last 30 days, the rate of new cases for school staff or students is 22 per 10,000, 35 percent lower than a new case rate of 34 per 10,000 for the general population. This  continues to demonstrate that in-person learning in schools that follow public health precautions can be conducted safely, without increased transmission of COVID-19 and supports schools’ adherence to the six requirements for returning to in-person instruction, regardless of their county’s designation.

DHHS and Maine CDC assessed COVID-19 data and trends by county and all counties remain green, however trends in  Piscataquis County will be closely monitored. The positivity rate in Piscataquis County  has been above 5 percent each of the past two weeks, and the new case rate is two times higher than the next highest county.

These designations are provided for the consideration of school administrative units in their decisions to deliver instruction.

The county-level assessments are based on both quantitative and qualitative data, including but not limited to recent case rates, positivity rates, and syndromic data (e.g., symptoms of influenza or COVID-19). Those data are publicly posted every week on the Maine CDC website. DHHS and Maine CDC also consider qualitative factors, such as the presence of outbreaks that may potentially affect school-age children. The qualitative and quantitative considerations and data used by the CDC in determining community transmission risk levels for schools can be located here: How County Risk Levels for Maine Schools are Determined

The Health Advisory System categorizations are defined as follows:

Categorization as “green” suggests that the county has a relatively low risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider in-person instruction, as long as they are able to implement the required health and safety measures.  Schools in a “green” county may need to use hybrid instruction models if there is insufficient capacity or other factors (facilities, staffing, geography/transportation, etc.) that may prevent full implementation of the health and safety requirements.

Categorization as “yellow” suggests that the county has an elevated risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider additional precautions and/or hybrid instructional models to reduce the number of people in schools and classrooms at any one time.

Categorization as “red” suggests that the county has a high risk of COVID-19 spread and that in-person instruction is not advisable.

The next update will be provided on Friday, March 26. Updating this advisory on a two-week basis aligns with the incubation period for COVID-19 and allows for greater stability in the trend data for small counties.