At the end of World War II, Judge Learned Hand spoke at an “I Am an American Day” ceremony in New York City’s Central Park, asking himself and us all what it truly means to be free.

“We have gathered here to affirm a faith, a faith in a common purpose, a common conviction, a common devotion,” he said. “…We have [a] right to consider ourselves … those who had the courage to break from the past and brave the dangers and the loneliness of a strange land. What was the object that nerved us, or those who went before us, to this choice?”

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Judge Learned Hand answered his own question regarding those who came to this land from other lands, he said, “We sought liberty — freedom from oppression, freedom from want, freedom to be ourselves.” He concluded that liberty rests not in “ruthless unbridled will or the freedom to do as one likes,” which leads to freedom possessed by only a cruel few, but instead in the hearts of every man and woman who seeks to understand the minds of others, those who weigh others’ interests alongside their own without bias, and in the spirit of an America that “strives to be a signal,” he said, “a beacon, a standard, to which the best hopes of mankind will [for]ever turn.”

This year’s celebration of our nation’s founding will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes.

A global pandemic has infected millions of people. The very ways in which we show our love and joy and grief and sorrow — handshakes, hugs, shouts and songs — they are no longer safe as they used to be. The same goes for the backyard family barbeque with family and friends from near and far.

To combat the spread of the deadly virus we are facing and to save lives, governors across the country have imposed restrictions on the movements and activities of their people.

Boy when I ran for Governor I never envisioned I would have to tell people in Maine to stay home. To wash their hands. To stay six feet apart from others at all times. To wear a cloth face covering.

I did so as many other governors did so because public health experts have told us those are the ways we have to fight back against this pandemic, and other states and nations who have managed to curb this virus have proven those measures are effective.

But despite the science, which shows us what we need to do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and begin healing our economy, some people have tried to make this pandemic political. Saying that requiring people to wear face cloth coverings is forcing them to give up their freedoms, their personal liberty.

But then again, are any of us truly free while this pandemic rages on around us? And isn’t the purpose of a face covering to protect others as well as ourselves?

Like the founding of our nation, our freedom, our liberty, now rest on the spirit of patriots. Patriots who face great odds, but who fight with determination and hope for our collective future.

The Declaration of Independence ends with this simple promise the founders made to each other, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

This July 4th let us once again “pledge to each other our lives”. Let us remember in this difficult time that our fortunes and futures are bound together.

The hope of our past and the faith in our future are with us this Independence Day, as we raise our heads high, face coverings and all showing that we care for our neighbor, showing that we respect the freedoms and safety of all citizens, showing our great love for our state, our love for our nation.

So wear the face covering, wear the mask with pride, in honor of every patriot including those many patriots, the honored warriors whom we have lost to COVID-19.

God bless you all. God bless the State of Maine this July 4th weekend.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening and stay safe.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and our gradual reopening process, the Maine CDC has been monitoring epidemiological data, like case trends and hospitalization rates as well as health care readiness and capacity, to inform all of our decisions on lifting restrictions and stimulating our economy.

We look at these metrics every day. We look at them in their totality and we look at them in context, as opposed to looking at daily changes of one metric itself to inform our decisions.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Adjusted for population now, as of June 25, Maine now ranks 7th lowest in the nation in positive cases; we are 9th lowest in the nation in terms of deaths from COVID-19; we are 6th lowest in terms of patients that are ever-hospitalized out of the 36 states reporting; and 5th highest in the percentage of people who have recovered, out of the 42 states reporting.

In light of those data and those trends, we are moving ahead with Stage 3 of our Restarting Maine’s Economy Plan.  Starting July 1st, this coming week,  spas and skin care establishments; outdoor amusements, like amusement parks and water parks; indoor amusements, such as bowling alleys, arcades, movie theaters and performing arts venues may reopen if they wish, with health and safety protocols in place. The prohibition on gatherings of more than 50 people remains in place for all activities for public health reasons.

My Administration has also approved the first round of grants to municipalities under the Keep Maine Healthy Plan. Using federal Coronavirus Relief Funding from the CARES Act, these grants will help towns and cities implement their own COVID-19 prevention, education and protection plans to keep residents and staff and visitors healthy and safe.

For example, with this funding we’ll reimburse some municipalities for the purchase of personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer; it will allow some towns to place signs on side-walks to encourage people to maintain six feet distance from each other; or we’ll fund a local health officer in some towns to ensure that local businesses conform to public health best practices.

As the economy gradually restarts, and as the hospitality industry looks to hire people, I also want to remind folks too that people who are on unemployment can go back to work part time and take a part time job and not lose unemployment benefits in their entirety. And anyone who is receiving at least $1 in unemployment and you go back to work part time, you’ll also keep the additional $600 a week federal unemployment benefit through July 25th. Pretty good deal.

So these new grants to our towns and cities, along with the July 1st reopenings, are positive steps for Maine and for our economy, but boy Maine people and visitors and businesses have to keep remaining vigilant too.

The very high increase and in some instances record high increases in the number of COVID-19 cases in other states – that’s a cautionary tale for Maine as we continue our reopening and as we monitor the prevalence of the virus here, and work towards economic recovery.

Boy nothing would be more devastating to our economy than to see a significant surge in this virus, the virus that sickens and kills more people and jeopardizes our health care capacity.

It is possible, if not likely even, that the changes we are making will result in an uptick in cases so we will be keeping a close eye on all the epidemiological data as we have been doing from the very start.

We’ll look at the data in our state, and the data in our neighboring states, and states like New York and Connecticut where many people come from to visit Maine in the summer.

And if a review of the data about Maine finds evidence of an increase in COVID-19 or a risk to the capacity of our health care system, we will have to move quickly to protect Maine people.

But the most effective way to make sure that we do not have to reestablish restrictions and we can keep our economy going is by taking care of ourselves and each other.

So, I ask you as your Governor– please – if you own or work at a public-facing business, please strictly adhere to all health and safety protocols. Don’t let down your guard now. Protecting your customers and your staff protects your business as well.

I ask all Maine people, remember to wash your hands frequently, maintain six feet of distance between yourself and others no matter where you are, stay home when you can, especially if you are older or have an underlying health condition, and wear a face covering when you are out in public when it is hard to maintain six feet of distance between you and others. Please do that.

Studies now show that those face coverings really work.

If we protect ourselves and protect one another by taking these steps, we can continue to reopen our economy in a safe way, and we can limit the spread of this dangerous virus as we welcome the tourist season in Maine.

It is up to every one of us.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening and stay safe.

This week my Administration unveiled the "Keep Maine Healthy" plan to protect the health of Maine people while encouraging tourists to visit Maine safely, supporting our small businesses and their workforce during these crucial summer months.

Hello this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

The plan is the result of weeks of discussion and engagement with tourism and hospitality folks, business owners, chambers of commerce, public health experts, lawmakers, town officials, and others.

Here are the basics:

Under the plan, adults – not children – who took and received a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours before a visit, may forgo the 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Maine.

A negative test indicates that, even when they come from areas with a higher prevalence of the disease than Maine’s, such people are unlikely to have COVID-19 with a negative test or to spread it to Maine residents and other visitors and workers.

So, we strongly urge visitors to "Know Before You Go," meaning they should get tested and receive their test results in their home state before coming to Maine.

We are exempting residents of New Hampshire and Vermont from testing and 14-day quarantine altogether, as of Friday June 12th, because the prevalence of active cases of COVID-19 in those states is pretty similar to Maine’s based on population.

By contrast, in places like Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey – where nearly half of Maine’s tourists come from – the virus is eight to eleven times more prevalent than in Maine. Those individuals will be able to stay in a lodging facility in Maine starting June 26th.

We are also stepping up our game on symptom checking to keep everybody safe.

The Department of Health and Human Services has teamed up with Maine community colleges to enlist students in the health professions so they may go out and ask visitors in those high-traffic places in tourist destinations about symptoms and offer advice on staying healthy.

We are also offering financial incentives to the towns to develop their own COVID-19 prevention and protection plans — that’s federal money to help the towns develop these plans. 

Throughout the coming weeks and months, Maine CDC will monitor epidemiological data, as it has throughout the entire reopening process — case trends, hospitalization rates, reports of COVID-like symptoms, as well as health care readiness and capacity.

There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has loomed large over our tourism industry — an industry that is already severely affected by travel restrictions on Canadian visitors; by a downturn in the economy nationally and by a decrease in consumer spending across the country.

Some people are afraid that tourist traffic will increase the spread of the virus, while many small businesses fear that if visitors don’t come, they will have to close their doors permanently.

Well I am also deeply concerned about our economy. But boy I can think of nothing worse, nothing more devastating than an outbreak or resurgence of this deadly untreatable virus at the height of tourist season. Nothing would be worse for our economy and for the tourism industry in particular. I want visitors and staff and the public all to know that they are protected, by every means possible.

You know I get messages every day from people who are grateful that Maine has remained a safe state to live in and that the hard work of our public health people has kept our numbers low. This new plan aims to keep those numbers low and to keep people safe. And it is working.

Just the other day one person wrote:

"My husband works in healthcare… in Maryland. [Other than] FaceTime, I haven’t seen him since early March. We [were planning] … he would drive from Maryland … to Maine, [so] we were upset with Gov. Mills’ announcement [and] concerned that he wouldn’t be [coming into] the state so he proactively took a COVID-19 test...He learned just two hours ago that he’s COVID positive. He is asymptomatic… [but] this was a clear shot across the bow for our family [and] we have an extended "familial bubble" that includes an immuno-compromised family member which may have led to devastating consequences."

This family’s story is exactly why we developed this plan. By creating layers of protection to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus we can protect the public health, establish Maine as a safe place to visit, and invite tourists to come here safely and support our economy.

We want to save both the lives and livelihoods of Maine people.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Throughout this COVID-19 pandemic and our gradual reopening of the economy, the Maine CDC has monitored epidemiological data, including case trends and hospitalization rates, and health care readiness and capacity, to inform every one of our decisions on lifting restrictions in the State of Maine.

What do these trends look like?

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

In the past two weeks, Maine’s count of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased. Three counties in particular show alarming trends in these cases.

In the seven days beginning Wednesday, May 20 to Tuesday, May 26, a total of 96 neThroughout this COVID-19 pandemic and our gradual reopening of the economy, the Maine CDC has monitored epidemiological data, including case trends and hospitalization rates, and health care readiness and capacity, to inform every one of our decisions on lifting restrictions in the State of Maine.

What do these trends look like?

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

In the past two weeks, Maine’s count of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased. Three counties in particular show alarming trends in these cases.

In the seven days beginning Wednesday, May 20 to Tuesday, May 26, a total of 96 new cases was reported in Androscoggin County alone, for an average daily increase there of almost 14.

In the same time frame, a total of 193 new cases was reported in Cumberland County, for an average daily increase of more than 27.

In that same time frame also, a total of 52 new cases occurred in York County, for an average daily increase of more than 7.

In light of those trends, earlier this week, my Administration postponed the reopening of restaurants for dine-in service in York, Cumberland, and Androscoggin counties.

Restaurants in these counties were tentatively scheduled to reopen to dine-in services on June 1.

Instead, they may now offer outside dining service beginning June 1, but not dine-in eating.

I also announced that restaurants in Maine’s other thirteen counties can reopen as planned on June 1st for indoor and outdoor dining with precautions.

As of this recording, Maine has reopened its economy on a par with or to an even greater extent than other New England states.

Still, I know that this week’s announcement was unwelcome news for some restaurants in Cumberland, York and Androscoggin counties who had been preparing to fully reopen next week. I recognize and deplore the impact that this has on them.

I hear people asking: could we have given them a few more days, a little more notice? Well I would like to have been able to provide more notice, but, knowing that nothing is predictable about this pandemic except that people will get sick and many will die, I am trying to balance that fact with the need to consider the most current public health data and trends available.

So over that past week leading up to Wednesday, the trend in Androscoggin County for instance, continued to climb in a disturbing fashion. We had no choice. 

Every decision has consequences that are devastating for some, but every decision is intended to protect people of Maine from a deadly virus which is often spread in enclosed spaces where people tend to sit for extended periods of time, places like indoor dining facilities.

As Governor my responsibility is to protect the health and wellbeing of Maine people and to support our economy – and I will continue to fight to strike that balance.

The easy thing to do would be to allow everything to reopen. The easy thing to do would be to say yes to every business that wants to open widely and pretend that things are the same as they were a year ago, but they’re not and there is nothing easy about any of this. Our decisions however are based on fact and medical science, not on politics and not on popularity. The people of Maine expect no less of us.

So, I ask you – please – remember to wash your hands frequently, maintain six feet of distance between you and others, stay home when you can especially if you are older or have a health condition. Wear a cloth face covering when you are out in public to protect others.

Stay local, shop local. Support your local small businesses whenever possible.

Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation. We’ve kept our numbers low in comparison to other states because we’ve done the right thing and you’ve done the right thing.

We are in this together.

As Doctor Anthony Fauci said earlier this week “Now is the time, if ever there was one, for us to care selflessly about one another.”

I couldn’t agree more.

This is Governor Janet Mills.

Thank you for listening.

This weekend is Memorial Day. I want us to pause this weekend and remember the good, the courage and the grace of our nation’s past.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

This has been an extraordinarily difficult year, 2020, for our country and for our state. There is pain and illness, death and unemployment, and financial loss.

But it is on Memorial Day too that we remember how much else we have been through, how we survived those times and how we will survive and rise again.

This is the anniversary year of many other difficult years. Forty- five years ago, the end of the Vietnam War which sent 48,000 Maine men and women to that far-off battleground and took the lives of more than 340 of our people in Maine.

Sixty-seven years ago, the end of the Korean conflict, “the forgotten war” so called, which took the lives of more than 33,000 Americans, including at least 244 Maine soldiers.

Seventy-five years ago this month, V-E Day, the fall of the Third Reich, and, later that year, the end of the Second World War in which 80,000 Maine people served and more than 2,000 perished in battle.

I think of those people, the hardships they faced with uncertain fates, in Normandy and Belgium and Pacific islands.

Memorial Day brings respect and a sense of history as we honor those who perished to preserve our country and to protect our freedoms. It brings grief for the families of those recently lost including at least ten war heroes whom we have lost to the deadly coronavirus and whose families are unable to celebrate their lives.

When I think of those who served their country, I think of the courage they showed in the toughest of times.

Those Mainers who served and fought with determination and great hope for our collective future. A determination that I respect today. And a hope that I feel again today.

Seventy-five years ago last month, we lost one of the most vital people of the Twentieth century — Franklin Delano Roosevelt who led us out of the Great Depression and then led the American people through war, calling on us to speak with one voice, one heart, with determination, and dignity, showing what our nation is capable of as we fight against a formidable foe and formidable odds.

The odds we face today are great as well.

We know what to do.

We are not raising rifles and bayonets, or dodging land mines or dropping bombs on an enemy whose face and flag we know.

We are not walking into battle in foreign fields and forests.

We are facing an enemy that is real but unseen, as sure a killer as any enemy we have ever fought in our history.

We are fighting this foe as a nation and as a state, not with bullets, but with hygiene, not with soldiers huddled in bunkers but with social distancing everywhere we go, not with torpedoes but with face coverings. These are our strange and novel armaments, our only sure ammunition against this enemy. And we are all soldiers in this fight.

We arm ourselves this way to protect ourselves and protect people whose names we do not know — the people we meet on the street; who work in the restaurant, or the packing plant or the store; the nurses, doctors and people who care for the sick; and the veteran who deserves to live the remainder of that heroic life with health and happiness, not to be felled by a painful contagion far from family and friends.

We face great odds this year, as we did 75 years ago.

But we have the same hope and the same faith in the future, the same commitment to community that drove our predecessors not only to serve and survive, but to rise again, a unified nation.

The hope of our past and the faith in our future are with us this Memorial Day, as we raise our heads high, facial coverings on. Our souls rise, as we show, with these simple measures, our love for our neighbor, our respect for the freedoms and safety of all citizens, our great love for our state, and our love for our nation.

Wear the mask to show you care. Wear the mask with pride, in honor of every patriot.

God bless you. God bless the State of Maine this Memorial Day weekend.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

I am the daughter of a Maine public school teacher, so I know firsthand how important the work of Maine teachers is and the many challenges they have to overcome every day. Right now, our teachers and students are rising to meet an even greater challenge - adapting to distance learning amid this dangerous COVID-19 pandemic.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

I want to thank all Maine teachers for their continued devotion to our students even as, in many cases, you care for your own children at home. We will get through this. In the meantime, you continue to guide your students through a very uncertain time, and inspire them and set them on the path to a bright future.

While you do that important work, it is our responsibility to ensure that you, and all of our students, have what you need to stay connected during these difficult times.

Internet access is a necessity, not a luxury now and yet too many families lack access to high-speed internet, especially in some rural areas of our state.

Universal connectivity is more important than ever before during this pandemic as teachers try to stay connected to their students across Maine.

So, I am proud to announce that we have used federal funding and donations to secure internet access and provide internet devices to facilitate at home learning for 100 percent of the Maine children who said that they needed it.

The Department of Education conducted surveys of all public schools and private schools who serve public school students to understand the connectivity needs of students statewide —  21,845 students said they lacked connectivity. That’s a lot of kids.  Based on data from the 75 percent of schools that responded, about 2/3 of them said they needed a wireless service contract and about a third said they just needed a device, you know a hotspot or something.

So, to meet that need, our Administration has acquired service contracts for all those students through three different service providers, nearly all of which are for WiFi-enabled Galaxy Tablets that can be used as learning tools and hotspots or hotspots only.

Through one service provider, the Department of Education was also able to order MiFi, a wireless router that acts as a mobile WiFi hotspot. And, to fulfill the device only needs, the Maine Department of Education ordered (more than) 7,400 laptops.

The Department of Education is continuing to survey schools to determine further connectivity needs and they are reaching out to both higher education institutions and adult education programs to determine their students’ connectivity needs. 

As we work on returning to in-classroom instruction when it is safe to do so, these new devices will allow Maine students to stay engaged remotely with their school no matter where they live, regardless of their zip code or their family circumstances.

I want to thank the many generous donors and Maine’s Congressional Delegation for their advocacy and support which made this possible.

To all Maine students, I know this school year has been very difficult, but I am proud of the way you have pushed through to continue your education. We will need your skills to create a brighter future for everyone in our state.

And to Maine’s teachers, please know that we deeply appreciate all you do for our children and for the State of Maine. I hope that these devices and these service contracts provide some measure of relief amid a challenging situation to you and your students.

I am Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Hello, it’s finally spring. The crocuses and tulips are poking their heads through the soil, robins are singing. Meanwhile, we continue to fight one of the biggest challenges our state has faced in a hundred years.

Hi, I am Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

The State of Maine has joined all other states in confronting the threat of the COVID-19 virus. Like other states, Maine has seen hundreds of people fall seriously ill and dozens of people die as a result of the virus.

All 50 states now have invoked their emergency executive powers. The President has declared every state a federal disaster area. And the overwhelming majority of states have issued strict “stay healthy at home” orders and orders prohibiting large gatherings and many common recreational and business activities.

Look, we all want life to return to normal as soon as it is safe to do so. Our hearts break to see closed storefronts and people struggling to make ends meet because of this crisis. Each day people call me and tell me their story and urge me to keep people safe while also doing what we can to protect the businesses and the lives and livelihoods of working men and women who are the heart and soul of our state.

At the same time, they and we know that reopening too soon and too aggressively could cause a secondary surge in COVID 19 cases, risking the lives of Maine people, overwhelming our healthcare system and further destabilizing the economy. Nobody wants that.

That’s the truth. And I’m not going to sugarcoat it.

Here in Maine, we are pursuing a cautious reopening, tailored to our state's own demographics and economic sectors. This approach won’t be driven by artificial deadlines or generic guidelines. It will be driven instead by fact, science and public health, and it will be done in cooperation with the private sector.

Our basic principles are:

1. Protecting Public Health;
2. Maintaining Health Care Readiness;
3. Building Reliable and Accessible Testing; and
4. Prioritizing Public-Private Collaboration

The Administration’s approach will utilize criteria and measurements being developed now by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention that will lead to a phased reopening of our economy. We will share those measures shortly when they are finalized.

Meanwhile, the DECD (Department of Economic and Community Development) will solicit ideas from industries and the various sectors of Maine’s economy about we can collaborate and how they can work with State Government to develop practical, reasonable, evidence-informed protocols to reopen.

We invite Maine people to take part in the discussion — give us your ideas about how we can safely restart the economy at https://www.maine.gov/decd/.

We also continue to process tens of thousands of new unemployment claims, and sending out the $600 weekly checks under the new federal program and planning how to process the new claims for self-employed individuals under this other new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program. We’re getting through it.

While we work hard to get benefits out to all eligible people, while we keep track of outbreaks of the virus across the state, and while we plan on how to reopen businesses and activities, dreaming of going back to the way things were, we also know that things will not return to normal soon.

Meanwhile we call on each other to reimagine how we do things, how we invent different ways of doing business, or shopping, or traveling, taking care not just of ourselves but of every man, woman and child in Maine, for whom we are all now equally responsible.

After all, you know, Maine is not just a state or a way of life or a dot on the map with 1.3 million people, or some place between the 42nd and 47th parallel on the globe. Maine is a community of souls, a state of givers and doers, of people with ideas, courage and compassion. Now is the time to let our true selves shine.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Like you, I certainly want life to return to normal as soon as it is safe to do so. My heart breaks to see the closed storefronts and to see so many people struggling to make ends meet because of this crisis.

At the same time, we all know that reopening too soon and too aggressively could very well cause a surge in COVID-19 cases, causing people to die and further rocking our economy.

None of us wants that.

As the President acknowledged this week, Governors are in charge of reopening our states’ economies, gradually lifting public health restrictions.

Here in Maine, we are planning a phased-in reopening, tailored to the demographics and the economic sectors of our state.

Ultimately, the protocols we adopt, after consulting with people from all parts of the state, will be guided by fact, science and public health guidance.

As the President’s guidelines note, widespread testing, personal protective equipment, and contact tracing are all critical to lifting the restrictions and reviving our economy; for that reason, the nation’s governors this week again urged the Federal government to make sure that all our states have these vital resources.

I also remain in touch with Governor Sununu of New Hampshire and Governor Scott of Vermont and we talk about things that we can do together appropriate for our northern New England region.

My Administration, through the Department of Economic and Community Development, has been talking with people from various economic sectors across the state to evaluate how and when each of these sectors may reopen. Those decisions, of course, will be driven first and foremost by public health.

In the meantime, I ask you again to continue to stay the course. Stay home to save lives.

Of course, to stay home, you need to have a home.

That’s why this week I issued an Executive Order that limits evictions during this state of emergency. This Order applies to commercial tenants, small businesses, as well as residences.

And, with respect to rent, MaineHousing and I created a temporary rental assistance program for Maine people who can’t pay their rent due to COVID-19.

The program is up and running now and you can find more information about that at www.mainehousing.org/covidrent.

I also wrote to all the financial institutions this week urging them to negotiate with homeowners who are struggling to pay the mortgage because of COVID-19.

Homes are more than brick and beams and mortar. Home is where my husband and I raised five girls. It’s where we sat at the kitchen table, helping with homework, paying bills. Where we slept safely each night.

For some Maine people though, homes are not sanctuaries. In one recent survey of people who called the domestic violence hotline, 70 percent said that the pandemic had impacted their safety.

So, stay at home orders, while they are necessary to stop the spread of the virus, they can leave victims and survivors of abuse cut off from friends, family and others whom they rely on for help, further empowering their abusers.

I want to be clear – while the courts are closed for many proceedings, you can still get a protection from abuse order; and clerks, attorneys, police officers and others are standing by to connect you with support and services you need to stay safe. Even hotels that are closed to most people remain open for people escaping abuse.

I ask all employers to check in on your employees who are now working from home, and I ask all friends and family members to connect with loved ones to ensure that they are safe.

If you need help, please call 1-866-834-4357, any time, 24 hours a day. 1-866-834-4357. Domestic violence shelters are also there for you if you need to find safety.

We all have a responsibility to support one another even as we stay apart.

God bless you and keep you safe. God bless the State of Maine during this difficult time.

I am Governor Mills. Thank you for listening.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Thursday night and into Friday, a spring storm brought strong winds and heavy snow…it downed tree limbs and caused power outages to more than a quarter of a million people across our state – nearly a third of the state’s electric utility customers.

I mean, we really needed this right?

In the wake of this storm, I have directed the Maine Emergency Management Agency to work with our electric utilities to secure mutual assistance from other states and from New Brunswick and expedite the restoration of electricity as much as possible. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, I have asked them to prioritize hospitals, health care facilities, and food distribution centers.

If you still don’t have power, please know the utilities are working on it.

Well this storm, on top of COVID-19, is pretty frustrating. I know it is frustrating to be asked to meet new and never-ending challenges with courage, patience and compassion.

I know people are tired of being cooped up at home; tired of working on the frontlines away from your family and friends, tired of wondering how long will we have to do this.

And that’s ok.

It’s in difficult moments like these, when these burdens feel sometimes too great to bear, I think of the quote from my four year old granddaughter Noelle’s favorite movie, Frozen 2, maybe you’ve seen it. The quote is:

“Do the next right thing.”

What keeps me going during these times, during this holy week for Christians, Passover for people of the Jewish faith, it’s my faith in you, in Maine people: my faith in knowing that, no matter the difficulty, no matter the challenge, Maine people will rise to do the next right thing.

So, today, I suggest you call a neighbor, make sure they are okay. Thank our front line workers, our health care workers. Hug your kids, they are missing their friends and their teachers and schoolmates. Stay the course. Stay home to beat this virus. Be kind and love one another.

I am speaking to you not just as your Governor, but as a widow. As a mother. As a grandmother. As a friend.

I know there is someone out there you know who would like to hear from you.

Maybe it’s an uncle or an aunt. A grandfather or grandmother.

Your neighbor, or someone in assisted living who’s waiting for that phone to ring. Someone you used to snowmobile with. Someone you used to go fishing with. Maybe someone you played cards with once upon a time.

Call them, ask them to tell you their story. Tell them that you want to hear about the Korean War, or their experience in Vietnam. Or what they remember about their wedding day.

Don’t miss this opportunity; there may never be another one.

Don’t let this moment pass you by.

You know my niece recently made a call to my older brother and spent three hours on the phone with him learning about his experiences during the Vietnam War.

So make the call.

Even if it’s someone you’ve lost touch with, or someone you offended at one time. They still need to hear from you.

We are all in this together, so be kind and do the next right thing.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: please stay home and go out only when necessary. When you do go out, stay six feet apart from other people and wash your hands often. You’re saving lives. We’re all saving lives by staying home.

Friday, Larry Lord, the hero of Franklin County who ushered people to safety out of the building in Farmington before it exploded last September, he finally arrived home.

He arrived home after months of rehabilitation, and he still has a long and difficult road ahead.

So today, as we clean up our roads after the storm, as we restore power, as we do our part to stay apart and stay safe, let Larry Lord’s heroism and his perseverance remind us all that, with courage and kindness like his, we can and will overcome.

This is Governor Janet Mills.

God bless you and keep you safe.

God bless the State of Maine.

Thank you for listening.

We are in the midst of one of the greatest public health crises this world has seen in more than a century.

This virus will continue to sicken people across our state and our country; our cases will grow, and unfortunately, more people will die.

I say this to be direct, to be as honest with you as I can.

Because saving lives depends on all of us.

Good morning, I am Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Effective Thursday morning, April 2nd, until at least April 30, I have ordered:

1. All Maine people to stay at home. Leave only if you work in an essential business or to do an essential activity, such as getting groceries, or going to the pharmacy, or getting medical care, caring for a family member outside your home, or going for a walk, a run, a hike, fishing or walking a pet. But while you are out, even while you’re out, you have to maintain six feet distance from other people other than immediate family or household members.
2. I have ordered people not to use public transportation unless it’s for an essential reason or for some job that cannot be done from home. For those who travel in their own vehicles, you must limit passengers to persons within your immediate household unless you are transporting someone for a medical or public health reason.
3. I have ordered essential stores that do remain open to limit the number of customers inside the store at any one time, to also adopt curb-side pickup and delivery options as much as possible, and to enforce the recommended physical distancing requirements for customers and staff in and around their facilities.
4. I have ordered the continued closure of schools for classroom and in-person instruction until at least May 1. Traveling to and from a school for purposes of receiving meals or instructional materials for distance learning is allowed.

While I cannot simply close the State’s border, or pull up the Maine-New Hampshire Bridge as some people have suggested, I have issued a new travel order, effective immediately, requiring that anyone entering Maine self-quarantine for 14 days at home and obey Maine’s Stay Healthy at Home Order.

There will be a few exceptions for essential travel, but basically, if you don’t need to come to Maine right now for an essential purpose, please don’t.

This is difficult on all of us, but if we pull together, we can and will defeat this virus. Maine is a welcoming state, and we do welcome the many servicemembers, Coast Guard folks and medical professionals and so many people who are here to help us. I ask Maine people not to make assumptions about others or their license plate, and we welcome the cooperation of other visitors and returning residents in quarantining themselves and keeping us all safe in accordance with my travel order. Let us treat all people in Maine with compassion and kindness. That is how we will get through this.

If we all do our part, you and your family can stay safe. And the sooner we all take all these measures, the sooner we can flatten that curve, avoid the surge, and be safe once again as a state.

So, do your part: Stay apart.

If you love your neighbor, your family, if you love this state, as I do, please, don’t travel. Stay healthy. Stay home.

I am Governor Janet Mills.

God bless you and yours and keep you all safe.

And may God bless the State of Maine.