Mainers should now wear masks regardless of their vaccination status in 15 of Maine counties because of rising COVID-19 infections.
Only Washington County is exempt from those recommendations because new infections have dropped to 41.43 cases per 100,000 people as of Saturday, down from 57.36 the day before, according to a Bangor Daily News analysis.
Those recommendations remain in place in Androscoggin (87.2), Aroostook (171.5), Cumberland (80.68), Franklin (109.28), Hancock (105.48), Kennebec (116.92), Knox (103.09), Lincoln (80.85), Oxford (110.39), Penobscot (209.01), Piscataquis (280.01), Sagadahoc (92.03), Somerset (200.06), Waldo (188.85), and York (157.48) counties, data show.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status if there is substantial transmission of the virus in their community, defined as 50 or more cases per 100,000 people at a county level on a weekly basis.