AUGUSTA - Today, Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford and members of the Legislative Council voted to make face masks optional in the State House in response to declining hospitalization rates and updated guidance from the Maine CDC. The vote was unanimous of members present. The new policy takes effect Monday, March 7.
Lawmakers agreed to reevaluate the State House COVID-19 Prevention Policy, which includes the mask requirement, should the COVID-19 transmission rate in Kennebec County return to the high category as defined by the U.S. CDC.
Presiding Officers released the following statement:
"From the beginning, our goal as Presiding Officers has been for the operations of the Maine Legislature to return to some semblance of normalcy while protecting the health and safety of staff, the general public and our colleagues. The unanimous vote today represents a big step in the right direction. After a difficult few months, all the available data suggests that the COVID-19 surge in Maine has finally subsided. Hospitalization rates across the state have declined dramatically and only two counties are experiencing high transmission rates as classified by the U.S. CDC. Now, beginning Monday, masking will no longer be required to walk through the doors of the State House. However, it remains an option for anyone who chooses. We hope that this positive trend will continue and that we won't need to return to requiring masks in the State House but will continue to monitor the COVID-19 transmission rates in Kennebec County and the state."
Contact:
Christine Kirby (Jackson), 294-2468,
Jenna Howard (Fecteau) , 214-3185