Steve Mistler

Like many states, Maine has experienced very limited capacity to test for COVID-19, first because of the number of tests available and later because of a nationwide shortage of a critical element needed to produce a result. Now, with the introduction of a new rapid testing platform, the Maine Center of Disease Control says it is poised to pick up the pace.

As the surge of COVID-19 cases increases in Maine and across the U.S., public health officials and epidemiologists are attempting to model when the outbreak could hit its peak. Health officials acknowledge that the forecasts are imprecise, but can serve as guide posts as they attempt to plan for the worst.

Citing the historic public health threat of the coronavirus, Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday issued a stay-at-home order for all Maine residents and visitors.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday that there will be notifications on the Maine Turnpike near the New Hampshire border telling visitors from out-of-state that they must self-isolate for 14 days upon arriving in Maine if they are coming from places designated as COVID-19 hotspots. The governor says the move comes amid concerns that people will attempt to flee other states and worsen the outbreak here while also overwhelming the state's health care system.

The Maine Center for Disease Control is now prioritizing COVID-19 test results for residents and employees in long-term care facilities and nursing homes. The change marks a departure from federal guidelines, which had originally ranked testing in such facilities as a lower priority. But the change comes amid concern that the federal test ranking was ignoring the risk of infection in nursing homes to both residents and staff.

As Maine Gov. Janet Mills takes additional measures to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, she and other governors are saying residents should brace for a long period of sacrifice to protect public health. But President Donald Trump has begun signaling a dramatically different approach, telling Americans Tuesday that he wants large sections of the economy reopened by mid-April.

Gov. Janet Mills Mills has signed an executive order that adds new restrictions on non-essential businesses. Her order closes public-facing locations and businesses that cannot offer employees enough space to work safely with one another. The new steps come as Maine's total number of cases reached 118. Maine Public's Chief Political Correspondent Steve Mistler broke down the specifics with our All Things Considered host Nora Flaherty.

With another jump in the number of COVID-19 cases reported by the Maine CDC Thursday, Gov. Janet Mills is urging the federal government to provide more testing supplies and personal protection equipment, or PPE, to health care providers.

The number of coronavirus cases in Maine continues to climb. And now Gov. Janet Mills is taking steps she had originally hoped to avoid, including the mandatory halting of dine-in services at restaurants and bars and a prohibition on gatherings of 10 or more people.