Private businesses that cater to the public must close from midnight to 5 a.m. and gatherings of more than 250 people are banned.
Health
With omicron, hospital patient numbers may be more important than case counts
With the true number of infections probably much higher than the case count, ‘Hospitalizations are where the rubber meets the road,’ says a public health professor.
Omicron spreading in Maine as hospitalizations climb
The coronavirus variant made up 8.75% of the positive tests in the week leading to Christmas, according to genomic sequencing by The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor.
FDA allows Pfizer boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds as omicron surges
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now must decide whether to go along with the recommended boosters for the younger teens.
Experts urge universal mask-wearing to fight omicron, but behavior varies widely
Wildly inconsistent policies and people generally masking less after getting vaccinated present challenges for public health officials.
COVID-19 death rates are three times higher in Maine’s less vaccinated counties
The stark contrast reveals the effectiveness of inoculation in preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
COVID-19 hospitalizations tick up slightly in Maine
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 338 people hospitalized for COVID-19 throughout the state.
COVID or just a cold? Common symptoms have people hunting for hard-to-find tests
Experts say anyone with a cough or a sore throat who can’t get tested should stay at home.
CDC tells even vaccinated people to avoid cruise ships
Shares of Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. tumbled on the news.
U.S. children hospitalized with COVID-19 in near-record numbers
The previous peak over the course of the pandemic was in early September, when child hospitalizations averaged 342 per day, the CDC said.