Vaccinated Mainers should be prepared to wear masks indoors again, senior state health official says

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Fully vaccinated Mainers should be prepared to resume wearing masks indoors, as the delta variant of the coronavirus represents a significant portion of new COVID-19 cases, according to Maine’s senior public health official.

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah briefed members of Bangor city council on Monday evening as the state continues to see an increase in new cases of COVID-19.

“We probably need to be prepared, even for people who are fully vaccinated, for now, to start wearing masks indoors again,” Shah told advisers at a workshop.

In addition, he said, vaccinated children should be prepared for the possibility of wearing masks when they return to school in the fall.

The delta variant, first detected in India, is now the most dominant strain of COVID-19 worldwide. Public health experts have found it to be much more contagious than previous coronavirus strains, posing risks especially to the unvaccinated.

In Maine, the delta variant made up nearly 48% of virus samples tested this month through July 23, according to the state CDC.

As new cases of COVID-19 have increased in Maine, state officials have not said they are weighing the return of indoor mask requirements. Maine’s mask requirement for vaccinated residents ended on May 24 and Governor Janet Mills’ state of pandemic emergency ended on June 30.

State and federal health officials continue to recommend that unvaccinated people wear masks. Mask requirements remain in place for all forms of public transport, including buses and planes. Masks are optional in schools.

Mills’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning.

Another cause for concern has been the low vaccination rates in parts of Maine, Shah said.

While approximately 60% of the state’s population is now vaccinated, vaccination rates by county range from a low of 47.7% in Somerset County to a high of 71.5% in County of Cumberland. Some 54.5% of residents of Penobscot County are vaccinated, according to the Maine CDC. In the postal code that covers Bangor, Glenburn, Hermon and Veazie, 83% of residents are fully immunized.

Immunization rates have remained low among young Mainers between the ages of 16 and 29.

If this continues, Shah said, residents of Maine may need to start stepping up protective measures such as masking and social distancing that declined earlier this summer when the number of cases was lower.

“We have to be ready to relaunch, whether it’s around PPE, vaccinations, testing, as well as case investigation and planning for those possibilities,” Shah said.

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