As the state continues to investigate a growing outbreak in Waldo County, health officials have designated the county “yellow” as part its color-coded risk assessment for schools.
In a release on Friday, the Maine Department of Education says that officials reached the decision as daily COVID-19 cases have climbed in recent weeks, with the positivity rate in Waldo County reaching 1.4 percent — “higher than all other counties in Maine.”
The CDC says 57 cases have now been linked to an outbreak at the Brooks Pentecostal Church. Cases at schools in Searsmont, Thorndike, Belfast and Brooks are associated the outbreak, but the state says there is currently no “evidence of transmission in the schools.”
Under the “yellow” designation, the state recommends that schools should consider moving to “hybrid” instruction and suspend any extracurricular activities, including athletics. All other counties in the state remain at “green.”
