Multiple Maine School Switch Back to Mandatory Masking, Remote Learning
With COVID cases on the rise faster in Maine than any other state in the country (per 100,000 people), multiple Maine schools have made changes to their normal operations.
According to WGME 13, a Norway elementary school has made the decision to switch to remote learning as there has been a sharp rise in COVID cases throughout the district. WGME reports that a total of 101 new cases of COVID have been reported throughout MSAD 17 as of Wednesday.
Additionally, Maine's largest city, Portland, has made the decision to return all public schools to indoor mask mandates.
In addition to Portland Public School, WGME reports that a private school in the city has also decided to enforce a mask mandate. Waynflete school has said the are going back to the mask mandate and will also attempt to move as many activities as possible outdoors.
Waynflete Health Coordinator, Dalit Gulak, told WGME that they have also ended their pooled testing program and, instead, are sending those tests home with students who don't have any. He says they hope sending tests home will allow folks to find out they have COVID at home, instead of at the school.
Gulak told WGME in part,
"We received the tests from the state to give to families who don't have them and to faculty and staff so they can test at home. We feel we're really trying to keep as many cases off-campus as possible".