Nationally, new COVID cases averaged around 39,300 a day as of Tuesday – far lower than last winter but a vast undercount because of reduced testing and reporting.

The drop comes as hospitals are packed with RSV patients and facing a difficult influenza season.

Every Maine household is eligible to receive a free, at-home COVID-19 test kit every month. Each kit contains five rapid tests.

COVID isn’t the only threat young children face this fall and winter. U.S. health systems and children’s hospitals are currently grappling with a wave of respiratory viruses.

Reports of flu are already high in 17 states, and the hospitalization rate hasn’t been this high this early since the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

Work on the city's proposed new comprehensive plan, a 260-page document that guides decisions affecting the city, was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public health experts are fretting about a "tri-demic" where RSV, influenza and COVID-19 strain the health care system.

The Chinese city of Shanghai has started administering an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine in what appears to be a world first.

The first comprehensive look at how the nation's students are faring after two years of pandemic learning shows decades of academic progress erased – in Maine and nationwide.

Still, many people are expected to continue receive it for free once the U.S. government stops buying the shots, the drugmaker says.

'One piece of the puzzle': Ten months since Maine launched its wastewater surveillance program, experts are still figuring out the best way to use the data.

The $25 million is the latest in a series of payouts included in the state's supplemental budget approved in April.

The crisis has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women.

But less than a third of 5- to 11-year-olds would qualify.

The results show a decline in preparedness for college-level coursework.

There is no substitute for gathering in person – it can knit us, emotionally, as one.

But public health experts say increased vaccinations and access to treatments mean the situation is not as dire as last winter.

The average cost of an online, remote screening for COVID-19 was $55 in the state.

Supplies are sufficient, and demand is brisk, experts say.

The 'Today" show weatherman is feeling fine, with just mild symptoms according to host Koda Kotb.

Households can now order 1 free COVID-19 test kit per month.

The few cafes, stores and venues in Portland that still require masks say it's to protect their staff and put concerned customers at ease.

It is not immediately known whether the U.S. will make a similar move by Sept. 30.

Supplies are 'sufficient, but limited,' says Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah.

New York City will lift its private-sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate on Nov. 1 but will continue to require city employees to be vaccinated against the virus.

Seven Maine health care workers are taking their case to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, after a federal judge dismissed their case in August.

Meanwhile, residents of a city in China say they are experiencing hunger and shortages of medicine after over 40 days in a lockdown.

Some appointments were available this week and more are expected to open up next week as the state's supply grows.

The grant will provide more options for consumers as well as other livestock producers.

One outbreak is at Woodlands Senior Living of Waterville and involves 27 residents and four staff, according to the Maine CDC.

The relaxed guidelines, in accordance with the Maine CDC and DOE, no longer require districts to contact trace or notify families of children who may have been exposed to a student in the same classroom or on the same bus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized extended expiration dates for some at-home COVID tests.

New booster shots have arrived and social distancing guidelines have eased but COVID-19 infections aren't going away anytime soon.

Maine is expected to receive 80,500 doses of new omicron-targeting booster shots within the next 2 weeks.

The original vaccines still offer strong protection against severe illness and death, especially among younger and healthier people, but those vaccines were designed to target the virus strain that circulated in early 2020.

The hope is that the modified boosters will blunt yet another winter surge. They should be available in Maine starting next week.

COVID-era learning loss threatens to add to longstanding inequities in education.

First lady Jill Biden had been isolating at her family's house in Delaware, since testing positive on Aug. 24.

The Secret Service said an investigation found that alleged conspirators submitted pandemic loan applications by using fake or stolen employment and personal information and used an online bank to conceal and move their criminal proceeds.

When it comes to both COVID and climate change, don’t condescend – suggest steps people can take that have a positive impact.

Service for medical and critical care appointments to end next month.

White House COVID-19 coordinator said, 'it’s going to be really important that people this fall and winter get the new shots...'

Town Manager Perry Ellsworth anticipates the office will reopen Thursday.

The rules build upon recently updated recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

Regional School Unit 9 Superintendent Chris Elkington said the state has issued guidance to handle COVID-19 outbreaks as they would another infectious disease, marking an end to COVID-specific standard operating procedures.

The CDC recommendations apply to everyone in the U.S., but the changes could be particularly important for schools, which resume classes this month in many parts of the country.

Bates tells students they need to test negative for the disease before coming to Lewiston but won't require tests once they're here.

Some 80,000 tourists have reportedly been stranded in Sanya.

George J. Mitchell School Principal Kim Taylor reported some kindergarten students entered school last year not knowing how to interact with other children, play or wait in line because they had had no social interaction during the pandemic.