Maine is beginning to round the corner on the post-holiday surge of COVID-19.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills.

On Thursday, Maine reported a lower positivity rate of 3.64, a decrease from almost 6 percent on December 31. Maine’s 7-day new case rate has declined by 35 percent in the last two weeks. 

All that is good news, although we are very wary about the continuing pandemic, but with the holiday season behind us now and in light of these better numbers, this week we decided to end the 9:00 p.m. early closing time for businesses, effective Monday, February 1.

That early closing time was aimed at reducing the higher risk of COVID-19 transmission during those later indoor entertainment hours when people are more likely to lower their guard and not adhere to basic public health and safety measures.

And it was geared to the holiday season in particular. We were very wary about people getting together in public places and catching the virus.

So that measure, that so called curfew, which is similar to what other states have done, that allowed businesses to keep their doors open during the daytime and evening and allowed curbside pick-up and delivery service before and after 9:00 p.m. We really wanted to keep those businesses viable but at the same time protect the public from the virus.

Starting Monday, those businesses that had been subject to this requirement — restaurants, movie theatres, casinos — they may all resume late evening operating hours if they choose, while continuing to follow basic public health and safety guidelines.

The progress we are making is encouraging, but boy the pandemic is far from over.

Every time we wear our masks, watch our distance, and avoid gatherings, we all help put a lid on this virus and help get our state back on track and back to normal faster. We want Maine people to be healthy. It’s the highest goal we have and our number one focus.

It’s not only the right thing, it’s also the very thing that will bring our economy back. As all the economists tell me: you can’t have a healthy economy if you don’t have healthy people.

We have been luckier than a lot of states.

People have moved here, stayed here, paid taxes here, and enrolled kids in school here because they feel safer here. And we welcome them, we want them to continue living here, working here, shopping here.

For all kinds of reasons, we’ve got to keep our state healthy.

Right now, we are working to get as many vaccines into the arms of Maine people as quickly and efficiently as possible — as of Friday, more than 137,000 people have been vaccinated. But even if you’ve been vaccinated, once or both times, it’s important to keep taking those basic steps that public health experts all advise will keep us all healthy.

Speaking of staying healthy, I want to also acknowledge that President Biden this week announced that his administration is opening a special health care enrollment period for marketplace coverage on HealthCare.Gov from February 15th to May 15th, extra months to allow people to shop for better health insurance coverage at affordable prices.

I sure welcome this news, and I applaud the President for this decision.

The pandemic has thrown into sharp relief how important it is for Maine people to have affordable health care so they can see a doctor, receive the care they need, and stay healthy.

My Administration has been focusing since day one on making health care more affordable and more accessible to Maine people and businesses – right now for example, more than 70,000 people have health insurance as a result of MaineCare expansion.

With the open special open enrollment period fast approaching, I encourage Maine people who are looking for affordable health insurance to visit CoverME.gov — that’s CoverME.gov — from February 15th to May 15th to learn about coverage options, find local assistance, and think about applying for better, more affordable health insurance.

In the meantime, please stay healthy and stay safe.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you so much for listening. 

Along with millions of Americans, I was moved by the historic Inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris this week. Among other things, for the first time, children across our nation can look upon a woman, and a woman of color, serving her country in the second highest office in the land and those kids now know that their futures too are limitless.

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

The President and Vice President assumed office during a difficult time. The coronavirus pandemic rages on, with more Americans falling ill and more people losing their lives every day. Thousands of people are out of work through no fault of their own. Small businesses are struggling to survive. Families are wondering when help will come so that they may pay the mortgage, send their kids to school and pay for fuel and food.

President Biden spoke eloquently to the divisions that have plagued our nation and the mission he and all Americans now assume to heal the wounds of the past and address the many crises that our nation can no longer ignore, not for one minute more.

With the peaceful transfer of power we renewed our hope for a united nation, where our divisions are healed by a recognition of our common bonds and shared loved for this nation.

A nation where we are not simply Republicans or Democrats or Greens or Independents; but a nation where we are all Americans, united by our sacred freedoms, our fundamental liberties and our civic responsibilities and bound by the promise of a more perfect union.

There is hard work ahead, but as Americans, we are defined by our resiliency, our ability to rise to the challenges of our times and our commitment to creating a better, safer world for our children and for their children, regardless of the magnitude of the problems we face. Maine joins that challenge.

As Amanda Gorman, the youngest Inaugural poet in history, so powerfully put it: “We lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony to all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true. That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped.”

On behalf of the State of Maine, I have extended my sincere congratulations to President Biden and Vice President Harris. I look forward to working with the Biden Administration to turn back the coronavirus pandemic, to get our people back to work, to strengthen our economy, and to chart a more prosperous future for all Maine families and for all Americans.

As the poet and the playwright have said, “History has its eyes on us.”

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.