Maine’s gradual reopening comes with a statewide condition: Face coverings
"We are not out of the woods yet."
For the first time in more than a month, Maine residents could go out to get their hair cut Friday — with one requirement: They have to wear a face covering.
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That’s the tradeoff that comes as the state begins to ease restrictions meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Officials in Maine, which has been less hard hit by COVID-19 than southern New England states, began the first phase of their plan to reopen the economy Friday. However, the move comes with the requirement that nearly everyone in the state must wear a face covering in public places where physical distancing is difficult to maintain.
“Maine appears to be flattening the curve against this pandemic, saving lives and protecting public health,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement. “But we are not out of the woods yet.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Maine had just over 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 53 deaths due to the disease, a fraction of the counts in more densely populated states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
While Mills extended the state’s stay-at-home order this week until May 31 (i.e. gatherings of more than 10 people continue to be banned), her order allows Mainers to return to a limited number of businesses, including barber shops, hair salons, dog groomers, auto dealerships, car washes, and drive-in move theaters. It also allows the restricted use of golf courses and “stay-in-your-vehicle religious services.”
State officials also distributed a checklist to specific businesses outlining the physical distancing, hygiene, and personal protection protocols they need to follow to open.
Ann Fouquette uses a trash bag for an apron before cutting Jan Smith’s hair Friday at Kilroy’s Haircutters in Brunswick, Maine.
But part of the deal is that individual Mainers adhere to new rules, too.
Given the evidence that many people infected with the coronavirus do not show symptoms and could be unwittingly spreading the spread, Mills issued a requirement that everyone over the age of 2 in Maine wear at least a cloth face covering in places where they can’t always stay six feet away from others.
The order — which follows similar federal guidance — doesn’t go as far as the requirements in some Massachusetts cities, requiring face coverings at all times in public and threatening to fine those who willfully refuse.
Maine’s face covering order only applies to stores and other indoor businesses open to the public, public transit, taxis and Ubers, playgrounds, “busy parking lots,” and other outside ares where people often gather, such as a line for takeout service.
Businesses that are not typically open to the public can decide whether to tell employees to wear a mask, though they cannot prohibit workers from doing so. The order also excludes children in child care settings and (like most other mask requirements) anyone with a condition that makes it difficult to breath or remove a face covering.
It’s unclear how exactly Maine’s requirement will be enforced; the order doesn’t mention the possibility of fines, and local police departments say they’re primarily focused on public education and explaining the governor’s order if they see a violation.
“We are pleased with the compliance of the previous orders, which has helped us flatten the curve on this virus, and we assume we will see the same degree of compliance with this order, given its public health purposes,” Lindsay Crete, the press secretary for Mills, told the Portland Press Herald.
Mills’s administration, which purchased 27,500 cloth face coverings to provide to state employees, notes that face coverings are not a replacement for proper social distancing. In a statement, Dr. Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, called face coverings a “complement” to the state’s overall strategy to “limit the risk of exposure during a gradual reopening.”
Maine’s reopening plan envisions a second phase of reopenings in June, easing the public gathering ban to a maximum of 50 people and allowing restaurants, gyms, and all retail businesses to reopen with certain precautions in place. A third phase in July or August would allow bars, hotels, campgrounds, summer camps, and personal services, like spas and tattoo parlors, to reopen as well.
The statewide face covering requirement took effect Friday, along with the first stage of business reopenings. The move comes as officials in New Hampshire and Vermont also announce plans to ease certain restrictions over the next week, though without any broad public face covering requirements.
In Massachusetts, which has had the third-most COVID-19 cases of any state in the country, Gov. Charlie Baker has yet to formally announce any reopening plans. This week, Baker extended the state’s nonessential business closure order and stay-at-home advisory until May 18. During a press conference Thursday, he downplayed concerns that Bay Staters would flee up I-95 to golf or get haircuts.
“I don’t think anyone is going to drive from Massachusetts to Maine to go to a barbershop,” Baker said. “Maybe they will. I don’t know.”
Maine has maintained its rule ordering out-of-staters to quarantine for 14 days. Though state officials clarified this week that visitors can go outside for things that are “absolutely essential to live, like go to the grocery store,” as long they are not sick and wear a mask.
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