Governor Janet Mills has extended the State of Civil Emergency (PDF) through February 17, 2021. The Governor’s decision to extend the emergency is in line with nearly every other state in the nation which have ongoing emergency declarations, according to the National Governors Association. For example, the governors of New Hampshire and Vermont (DPF) recently extended their States of Emergency.
A State of Civil Emergency allows Maine to deploy all available tools to respond to and contain COVID-19. This is Governor Mills’ eleventh extension of the State of Civil Emergency. Under Maine law, Proclamations of Civil Emergencies may be issued in thirty day increments.
Since December 19, Maine has recorded 15,523 new cases of COVID-19, which represents 45 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the state since the beginning of the pandemic. Since that date, 298 Maine people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 and 227 have lost their lives to COVID-19, representing 23 percent of all COVID-related hospitalizations and 44 percent of all COVID-related deaths in Maine since the beginning of the pandemic.